First weather index insurance programme in Nigeria

Another of our key achievements in 2014 was to help establish the first weather index insurance programme in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and now its largest economy. Developed in partnership with impact investment firm Doreo Partners (www.doreopartners.com) and its agricultural franchise Babban Gona (www.babbangona.com), the programme protects smallholder farmers against the risk of adverse weather patterns. The weather index solution underlying it uses satellite data to determine whether there is a lack of rainfall and then pays out automatically.

Offering smallholder farmers effective insurance protection has huge social and economic benefits beyond protecting their livelihoods. Once farmers can show they have insurance, banks are much more willing to give them loans. This enables the farmers to invest in better seeds and fertilisers to increase yields. With a secure minimum income, they can then gradually accumulate savings, leave subsistence farming behind and escape poverty. By supporting programmes such as this one and the ARC, we help to develop the African insurance markets that facilitate sustained economic and social progress.

For more information see Food security