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Kenyan farmers' insurance scheme expands

Ruth Wangechi examines her crop in Thung'ari village. The maize failed at the silking stage because of poor rains. Waweru Mugo/IRIN
    NAIROBI

    The companies behind an innovative micro-insurance scheme for Kenyan farmers have expanded the plan to cover not only inputs but also harvests.



    Kilimo Salama (“safe farming” in Kiswahili), which was launched in 2009 by UAP Insurance, Syngenta Foundation and mobile operator Safaricom, uses automated weather stations and mobile-phone technology to take out insurance when making purchases at farm shops. It has now been rebranded as Kilimo Salama Plus.



    The range of insurable crops has also increased and now includes maize, wheat, beans and sorghum, while the number of insured farmers is set to increase from 12,000 to a potential 50,000, according to Marco Ferroni, executive director of the Syngenta Foundation.



    am/mw



    More on micro-insurance:

    SOUTHERN AFRICA: Taking the risk out of subsistence farming

    ETHIOPIA: Taking the disaster out of drought

    KENYA: Covered for drought

    CLIMATE CHANGE: Down to the wire on adaptation money

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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