Climate cover: $140 million insurance scheme in Kenya to protect herders against frequent droughts
Livestock farmers in Kenya will now have the option to be protected under a $140-million expanded insurance scheme to cushion them against climate change-related frequent droughts.
The insurance is part of a project, De-risking, Inclusion and Value Enhancement of Pastoral Economies (DRIVE), sponsored through a credit facility by the World Bank targeting 1.6 million herders in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti under the framework of the Horn of Africa Initiative, as per Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture.
The scheme is the largest of its kind in Africa and is expected to benefit the livestock farmers who are often forced to sell their animals at throwaway prices when drought strikes. This devastates their livelihoods, as livestock is often the main source of income for these farmers.
“The scheme is implemented by the State Department for Livestock Development in partnership with the private sector ZEP-RE Reinsurance and Kenya Development Corporation. The project is expected to benefit over 125,000 pastoral households or about 800,000 people,” read a press statement from the ministry.
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