NAICOM says 1.47 million farmers covered in agric insurance schemes

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) says over 1.47 million smallholder farmers in Nigeria have been covered under agricultural insurance schemes.

According to a statement on Sunday, Olusegun Omosehin, the chief executive officer (CEO) of NAICOM, spoke in Maiduguri at the 2025 stakeholders’ retreat of the house committee on insurance and actuarial matters.

Speaking at the event, Omosehin said the smallholder farmers’ insurance coverage was facilitated by the Nigeria incentive-based risk sharing system for agricultural lending (NIRSAL).

The CEO said agricultural insurance has started to show clear impacts on productivity across farming communities nationwide.

“Recent statistics show that over 1.47 million smallholder farmers have been covered under NIRSAL’s agricultural insurance schemes, with a target of 3.6 million by 2026,” he said.

“In the second quarter of 2025, 250,000 farmers were insured across eight states under federal initiatives.

“In North Central Nigeria, insured rice farmers recorded 11 percent higher productivity than uninsured peers, averaging 20 bags per hectare compared to 18 bags,” he said.

The CEO cited examples of successful insurance programmes, including payouts under the national agricultural growth scheme and agro-pocket programme (NAGS-AP) to Kaduna ginger farmers who lost 90 percent of their crops.

He also said livestock insurance in Sokoto, Bauchi, Adamawa, and Plateau states helped to reduce farmer-herder conflicts.

Omosehin called for collaboration among stakeholders to effectively implement the NIIRA 2025, calling for support for compliance, policy harmonisation, and awareness promotion to unlock its transformative potential.

The CEO said the new law, signed by President Bola Tinubu in August, consolidates fragmented legislation into a modern framework that empowers regulators, protects consumers, and promotes innovation in the insurance industry.