In an impactful move to strengthen agricultural resilience in Nigeria, Leadway Assurance Company Limited has announced a strategic partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). This collaboration, backed by a grant of $399,900, aims to implement the project titled “Building Farmers’ Resilience through Innovative Insurance Models and Financial Instruments.” AGRA is recognized for its role in promoting inclusive agricultural transformation and sustainable food systems across Africa. The three-year initiative, which runs from March 2025 to March 2028, aims to uplift the livelihoods of 21,000 smallholder farmers (SHFs) in Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Niger States.
Climate change poses significant risks for Nigerian farmers, resulting in erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, exceptionally high temperatures, and increased crop failures. Such instability threatens national food security and undermines years of agricultural advancements. Acknowledging these challenges, Leadway Assurance is championing innovative risk management solutions specifically designed for rural agriculture.
Central to this initiative is the “Pay at Harvest” insurance scheme, a novel premium collection model that allows farmers to postpone insurance payments until after the harvest, thereby easing financial burdens. This approach encourages more SHFs to enroll in insurance schemes, enhancing resilience within the agricultural value chain. The “Pay at Harvest” model empowers farmers to secure their livelihoods without upfront costs, enabling them to recover from climate-induced losses and confidently access credit, inputs, and markets.
This current grant adds to Leadway Assurance’s prior successful partnership with Heifer International, which benefitted over 60,000 smallholder farmers through the same insurance model. The newly funded project expands upon this success by providing a comprehensive package that includes access to buyers and market linkages, extension services, climate-smart agricultural support, digital mapping of farmlands for improved monitoring, timely alerts for extreme weather, farmer education programs to enhance financial literacy and climate-smart practices, and fostering public-private partnerships for innovative financing solutions, including green climate finance for crop insurance.
To achieve these ambitious goals, Leadway Assurance will collaborate with several expert partners: Verdure Climate for climate risk analytics, PULA for tech-enabled agricultural insurance solutions, Rural Country Integrated Services Ltd. for field execution, as well as the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) and Heifer International to facilitate critical financing for SHFs.
By 2028, the initiative aims to secure $10 million in agricultural credit, introduce six new financial products tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers, and publish four knowledge products to promote broader sector adoption.
Mr. Fatona Ayoola, Head of Agribusiness at Leadway Assurance, described the partnership with AGRA as a landmark moment for agricultural risk management in Nigeria. “By providing tailored parametric insurance solutions to historically underserved communities facing the adverse impacts of climate change, and aligning these solutions with broader value chain interventions, we are not only safeguarding farmers’ livelihoods but also restoring confidence in agriculture as a viable business for rural Nigerians.”
Dr. Rufus Idris, Country Director at AGRA, emphasized the importance of effective insurance in Nigeria’s agricultural transformation and food security initiatives amid rising climate uncertainties. “This project endeavors to enhance access to insurance and its adoption among smallholder farmers, integrating proven models to help protect their crops and farmlands against climate-related threats such as floods, droughts, pests, and diseases.”
Source - https://www.brandtimes.com.ng
