Small-scale famers in Kenya, with as little as one acre of land, can now insure their produce against natural disasters such as drought.

According to the World Bank, approximately 65% of Africans work in the agriculture sector – more than anywhere else in the world. Yet, only 6% of them have some form of agricultural insurance. A mobile insurance scheme (initially introduced in 2009) has taken off in Kenya and has also become increasingly popular in other regions of the continent.

A BBC report states that the product now makes automatic claims that are triggered by data from local weather stations and distributed as mobile money. When purchasing fertiliser and seeds, farmers pay a 5% surcharge. This is registered with an insurance company, which then communicates with farmers via text message.

In March, the World Bank partnered with the Kenyan government to bump up its insurance schemes and rolled out the Kenya National Agricultural Insurance Programme. This plan is a bit different as it uses a combination of mobile phones, crop yield data, statistical sampling and includes GPS tracking for the first time. This ensures cover is also provided for cattle in the north of the country, where drought is the biggest cause of death.

12 April 2016
Image: Gallo/GettyImages