THE Managing Director/CEO, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Bode Opadokun, has called on the insurance industry to collaborate with the Corporation to exploit insurance opportunities in agricultural sector in Nigeria.
Speaking at the meeting of Lagos Area Committee of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) in Lagos, said recent years have been particularly tumultuous for the agricultural industry, especially with the production sector being affected by adverse weather events such as flood, drought and disease outbreak. The issue of flood incident have become more frequent due to climatic change as experienced recently in Sokoto, Kebbi, Adamawa, Rivers, Benue, Ebonyi, Delta, Kogi and others.
According to him, “Risk management in agriculture is now an essential tool for owners of agribusiness to anticipate, avoid and react to climatic shocks. Effective approach to managing agricultural risks along the entire value chain is therefore needed. An efficient and effective risk management system for agriculture will preserve the standard of living of those whose means of livelihood depend on agriculture, further strengthen the viability and survival of agribusiness and provide an environment which supports investment in the agricultural sector”.
In view of the huge potential premium earnings that agriculture holds for the insurance industry, he said, it has become important that insurance service providers especially brokers, agents and other intermediaries are advised to take more than a passing interest in agricultural insurance products and services in order to be able to offer investors in agric business the right service on risk Management.
“To achieve this therefore, the Corporation is prepared to partner with the NCRIB members in deepening the level of insurance penetration through training and collaborative actions. We are therefore counting on your co-operation towards making this objective achievable”.
According to the NAIC boss “The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation is fully prepared to provide security for all agro allied investors in the sector. NAIC has been in the business of agricultural risk management for over two decades. With our experience in agricultural risks underwriting, we have substantial understanding of the dynamics of the risks inherent in the agricultural sector and proffer the appropriate risk management solutions”.
“In line with the current trend in the agricultural market place, we have designed and deployed various categories of agricultural insurance products, services and policies to specifically manage the risk exposures across the entire agricultural value chain. These products will compensate agric investors in the advent of an event which may adversely affect their businesses”.
He said, “We have positioned the Corporation for the business opportunities which may arise from the upside investment in agriculture by the government and the private sector, the executive management have taken proactive steps in the following critical areas: ICT – Independent system analysts/ consultants were engaged to critically examine the business process of the Corporation. Thereafter, a new insurance software was purchased and deployed to facilitate our operational processes.
The long term intent is to ensure the complete automation of our business processes; wíth a view to enhance our visibility and create the necessary awareness amongst the farmers and Insurance practitioners, we engaged the services of a branding firm to conceptualize and design the template of our communication strategy.
Besides, he explained that comprehensive review and overhaul of our business process/ operational procedures has been concluded. The end result is the achievement of a standardized delivery model that has greatly reduce the turnaround time in our business transactions.
