JICA Brings Together Stakeholders to Discuss Agricultural Insurance

The 2nd Dialogue Platform Meeting for Supporting Agricultural Insurance in Ethiopia was held at Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, on April 20, 2023 by Ministry of Agriculture, World Food Programme. The concept was proposed by JICA's Index-based Crop Insurance Promotion Project (ICIP) to facilitate coordination among different stakeholders to discuss agricultural insurance policies to create a better framework for agricultural insurance in Ethiopia.

Around 50 participants joined the meeting from government organizations, insurance companies, banks, microfinance institutions, and development partners. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Transformation Institute presented on the status of a draft policy document. Additionally, ZEP-RE, a private reinsurance company based in Nairobi, shared their lessons and experiences in the sector. Vibrant discussions were then held on the roles and responsibilities of the government in order to ensure a nationwide insurance coverage for the farmers.

By engaging various stakeholders, and with the involvement of the government as the leading actor, efforts to build the platform will facilitate the development of agricultural insurance, thereby improving the livelihoods of vulnerable small-scale farmers in Ethiopia. Furthermore, this platform is anticipated to sustain the benefits of the JICA ICIP project even after its implementation period.