Uptake of Agricultural Insurance among Crop Farmers in Nigeria: Reviewing the Factors Influencing their Decisions to Adopt Agricultural Insurance

Abstract

Agriculture insurance is considered an effective tool for risk management as a means of promoting food security in Nigeria. The study examined the uptake of agricultural insurance among crop farmers in Nigeria. Primary data were collected from six states in the southern region of the country (i.e. Osun, Oyo, Enugu, Anambra, Akwa Ibom and the Delta States) and thirty crop farmers were randomly selected from each state to make a total of one hundred and eighty (180) respondents; these farmers were involved in root and tuber, cereals, legume production (i.e. cassava, yam, cocoyam, maize, beans, rice, etc.). Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socioeconomic and farm characteristics of the respondents. A Logit model was used to estimate the factors that influenced the adoption or uptake of insurance. The study showed that an increase in the years of experience of farmers which could stand as a proxy for the age of farmers has a negative relationship with the uptake of agricultural insurance by farmers: level of education has a positive effect on the likelihood of up taking an agricultural insurance product. Farm size, access to extension service, distance to insurance offices, and access to grants and aids from both governmental and non-governmental agencies were agreed to positively influence the uptake of agricultural insurance in the study area. The study recommended that there should be more awareness on agricultural insurance through different media and extension agents, bundling of insurance products with inputs, grants and aids will help to increase the uptake of insurance among farmers. Also, there is a need for insurance companies to create strategies and mediums of getting their insurance products to the farmers.