NAIC in talks with CBN over farmers’ data collection
By Asishana John
The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation has said it is discussing with the Central Bank of Nigeria and other stakeholders on the need to get perfect data for farmers across the country.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NAIC, Mrs Folashade Joseph, said during an interview in Lagos that for insurance business to be effective and sustainable, operators should have farmers’ robust data, which they should leverage to promote their operations.
She said this was crucial to monitoring farm processes, storage and the deployment of products that would be useful to the agric sector.
Joseph noted that index insurance could not operate effectively without accurate data.
She said, “Data for farmers will help us know how many farmers we have in each state and what each person is into such as rice production, maize, cassava and even processing of the produce. This is very important so that we can effectively monitor and improve on our processes.
“The index insurance cannot operate effectively without accurate data. It is only when we have the correct data, which we will improve every year, that we can effectively achieve our objectives. That is key to us in NAIC, and we have spoken to our supervising ministry and other stakeholders like CBN on the need to get a perfect data.”
She said NAIC was at the verge of deploying drones to inspect and monitor farm lands against flood and insecurity.
“One of the strategies we adopted which is aimed at improving our service delivery to policyholders is to deploy drone because the firm is in the process of obtaining a licence to engage in such venture. Once the issues of licensing and registration are completed, they will deploy the drone.”
She said the firm had incurred claims from flood and insecurity, adding that the company had sustained its awareness campaign with target at ensuring food security in the country.
Joseph implored those within the agric value chain to insure their businesses with her firm, which she said had presence across the nation.
