The agriculture ministry of Kenya has opened bids for crop insurance providers to cover more smallholder farms from the impacts of climate change under a government programme, according to Bloomberg.
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What is Happening?
- Under the programme, companies have until March 16 to submit bids for the subsidised crop insurance initiative that is looking to increase the amount of counties covered to 37 from 33. Kenya has 47 regional units.
- Agriculture is the largest employer in Kenya, comprising a third of GDP, while farm exports are the biggest earner.
- According to state-owned publication MyGov, the programme is “part of a broader risk management framework that has been adopted by the government of Kenya as a key strategy to derisk the agriculture sector with focus on the small-holder farmers.”
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- The country is very vulnerable to climate change with “projections suggesting that its temperature will rise up to 2.5 degrees Celsius between 2000 and 2050, while rainfall will become more intense and less predictable. Even a modest rise in the frequency of droughts will prove a major challenge for food security and water availability.
- However, in addition to offering crop insurance, Kenya is working hard to build a more sustainable future. The country is emerging as a leader in the fight against plastic pollution– last year, the country banned plastic bottles, cups and cutlery in its national parks, which followed after a country-wide ban on plastic bags in 2017. It was also among the first countries in East Africa to sign the Clean Seas Initiative to clear waterways of plastic waste.
- The initiatives are part of a plastic waste management programme, one that could be scaled and replicated throughout Africa and beyond. The national government is working alongside communities and in partnership with the private sector as well as the UNEP to achieve this.
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