Fruit farmers in Nyanza District have called on the government to consider adding fruits to the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) following challenges posed by frequent and prolonged dry spells, leading to decreased yields.
Prudence Sendarasi, a 64-year-old mango and avocado farmer from Ntyazo Sector, Nyanza District, said his fruit trees planted on 15 hectares face dry spells.
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Sendarasi said that including fruits in the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme would provide crucial support to farmers in managing losses caused by dry spells and other risks.
"My fruit trees are not insured; and we get inadequate harvest during dry spells. Fruits that are not added to the insurance scheme," he said. "It is necessary to add them into the scheme, for we risk getting challenged by a prolonged dry season.”
He stresses the importance of expanding the insurance coverage to encompass all types of fruits to safeguard against the risks posed by climate-related disasters.
Chantal Umuhoza, a small-scale fruit farmer, echoes the benefits of insuring fruits and suggests government expand the scheme to include fruits.
"We share the same challenges as any other farmers. And having that would cover our losses during climate-related emergencies. We hope that fruits will be added accordingly," said Umuhoza.
As of June 2024, the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme covered rice, maize, Irish potatoes, chili, cassava, soya, beans, and French beans, as well as cattle, piggery, poultry, and aquaculture.
For a new crop to be added to the crop insurance, various factors are considered, including requests from farmers or financial institutions for de-risking agriculture, Joseph Museruka, Project Manager of the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme at the Ministry of Agriculture, told The New Times.
"After receiving the requests, we conduct a feasibility study to profile the risks and work with insurers for risk placement as well as providing subsidy. For the case of fruits, we have not received any official request from the farmers and financial institutions,” he said.
Museruka said however that no crops are excluded from scheme.
Presently, farmers with the crops and livestock under the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme benefit from a 40 percent government subsidy on farmers’ premiums.
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The National Agricultural Insurance Scheme was launched by the government in April 2019, with a budget allocation of $25 million until 2027. It is part of efforts de-risk the agricultural sector.
More than Rwf 2 billion has been disbursed to farmers as compensation for losses incurred on insured crops and livestock.
In the fiscal year 2022-2023 Rwanda exported 21,953 tonnes of fruits, which were worth $19 million. That was a 30 per cent increase from to 14.6 million harvested in by the export of 16,207 tonnes.