By John Gangla
Agriculture is more than just another sector of Kenya’s economy; it is the foundation upon which millions of livelihoods, our national food security, and rural prosperity depend. The sector contributes approximately one-fifth of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product directly and supports many more jobs through manufacturing, transport, trade and agro-processing. More importantly, it provides employment and income for most rural households.
Yet agriculture is also the sector most exposed to climate risk.
Every planting season has increasingly become a gamble against drought, floods, pests, diseases and unpredictable weather patterns. Climate change is no longer a future threat it is today’s farming reality.
This year has once again illustrated the scale of that challenge.
Across the country, erratic rainfall has devastated harvests and left thousands of farming households facing uncertainty. In Nakuru County, one maize farmer harvested 120 bags from five acres last season. This year, from the same land, using similar farming practices, he harvested only 26 bags.
His experience reflects what thousands of farmers are enduring across Kenya.
In Taita Taveta County, widespread crop failure has left tens of thousands of residents facing food insecurity, while in West Pokot, thousands of households require food assistance despite living adjacent to one of Kenya’s major grain-producing regions.
Meteorological forecasts continue to warn of increasing climate variability, including the likelihood of severe flooding in some areas and prolonged dry spells in others. These extremes threaten agricultural production, household incomes and national food security.
For farming families, crop failure means much more than reduced harvests. It often translates into depleted savings, inability to repay loans, withdrawal of children from school, reduced investment in future production and increased dependence on humanitarian assistance.
This is precisely why agricultural insurance must become a central pillar of Kenya’s agricultural transformation agenda.
Last year, Kenyans spent KSh2 billion insuring their crops and animals according to data from the Insurance Regulatory Authority. While this nearly doubled the amounts spent the previous year, the uptake remains paltry with fewer than one percent of Kenya’s farmers reported to insure their crops.
This gap represents one of the greatest untapped opportunities to strengthen resilience within our agricultural sector.
Agricultural insurance is frequently misunderstood as a product that simply compensates farmers after disasters occur. It is a risk financing mechanism that gives farmers the confidence to invest in improved seed, fertilizer, irrigation, mechanisation and better farming practices because they know catastrophic weather events will not completely wipe out their investment.
Insurance also strengthens the entire agricultural value chain.
Financial institutions are more willing to lend to insured farmers. Agribusinesses gain more reliable suppliers. Governments spend less on emergency relief. Rural economies recover more quickly following climate shocks.
The evidence supporting agricultural insurance continues to grow.
An independent evaluation of the aMaizing Project in Kenya, implemented by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, part of CGIAR, found that farmers participating in a bundled index-based crop insurance programme achieved average maize yield gains of 315 kilograms per acre and improved household food security by almost 14 percent compared with non-participating farmers. Importantly, the programme combined insurance with climate advisories, farmer education and digital support services, demonstrating that insurance delivers the greatest impact when integrated into broader agricultural risk management systems.
Similarly, evidence highlighted by the UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub shows that insured smallholder farmers are significantly more likely to invest in long-term climate adaptation measures. The same studies indicate that integrating agricultural insurance into agricultural finance programmes increases farmers’ access to credit while reducing loan defaults following climate-related shocks.
Insurance therefore creates confidence, not only for farmers, but also for banks, agribusinesses, investors and development partners.
Despite these demonstrated benefits, uptake remains disappointingly low.
Several factors contribute to this.
Awareness remains limited. Many farmers have never received adequate information about how agricultural insurance works or how claims are assessed and paid. Others perceive insurance simply as an additional production cost rather than an investment in business continuity.
Affordability also remains a challenge for many smallholder farmers operating with limited disposable income.
On the supply side, insurers face increasing uncertainty as climate change makes weather events more frequent and more severe. This increases underwriting complexity and requires continuous investment in improved climate data, satellite monitoring and actuarial modelling.
Fortunately, Kenya has already laid an important foundation.
The Government’s Kenya Agricultural Insurance Programme (KAIP) has demonstrated that public-private partnerships can significantly expand insurance access for vulnerable farmers. Building upon this success will require increased investment in farmer education, premium support for vulnerable households, improved weather observation infrastructure and stronger collaboration between national government, county governments, insurers and development partners.
Technology also presents an unprecedented opportunity.
Modern agricultural insurance is increasingly powered by satellite imagery, remote sensing, automated weather stations, drones, artificial intelligence and digital claims assessment. These technologies improve underwriting accuracy, reduce operating costs and enable faster, more transparent claims settlement.
Equally important is the rapid growth of parametric (index-based) insurance, where payouts are triggered automatically when objective weather indicators such as rainfall, vegetation health or temperature reach predetermined thresholds. This approach reduces disputes, speeds up compensation and makes insurance more affordable for smallholder farmers.
Kenya is uniquely positioned to scale these innovations.
With widespread mobile phone ownership and world-leading mobile money infrastructure, farmers can now purchase insurance, receive weather advisories, report losses and receive claim payments digitally even in remote rural areas.
At Minet, we are working with insurers, financial institutions, agribusinesses, county governments and development partners to design agricultural insurance solutions that reflect the realities of Kenya’s diverse farming systems. Beyond arranging insurance, we are committed to promoting farmer education, strengthening agricultural risk management and supporting climate resilience across the value chain.
However, no single institution can solve this challenge alone.
Government must continue strengthening enabling policies and investing in climate information systems. County governments should integrate agricultural insurance into county agricultural extension programmes and climate adaptation strategies.
Banks and SACCOs should increasingly bundle insurance with agricultural credit.
Agribusinesses should incorporate insurance into contract farming arrangements.
Development partners should continue supporting innovation, premium financing and farmer education.
The insurance industry must continue simplifying products, improving customer experience and expanding digital distribution channels.
Most importantly, farmers themselves must begin viewing insurance not as an optional expense but as an essential investment in protecting their livelihoods.
Countries around the world have demonstrated what is possible when agricultural insurance becomes part of national agricultural policy. While Kenya’s farming systems differ from those of larger economies, the underlying principle remains universal: resilient agriculture requires resilient farmers. Climate change is already redefining the future of farming.
Our response must be equally transformative.
Just as quality seed, irrigation, mechanisation and extension services have become essential agricultural inputs, agricultural insurance must now be recognised as critical national infrastructure for building food security, protecting rural livelihoods and sustaining economic growth.
Protecting farmers is not simply an insurance issue.
It is a national development imperative.
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The writer is the Associate General Manager, Minet Risk Solutions at Minet Kenya Insurance Brokers Ltd