Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has disclosed that he has directed the release of $5 million (about N110 million) to Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Company (NAIC) to support its institutional reforms.

The gesture, he added, will also strengthen the company's operations and roll out of agricultural insurance products.

The minister, who was represented by South West Regional Director, Minister of Agriculture, Olalekan Quadri, spoke during the commissioning of Lagos Head Office Annex of NAIC on Thursday.

He said the goal is to ensure that over 15 million farmers are covered by crop and livestock insurance in the next three years.

He said: "I have given directive to the National Agricultural Insurance Company (NAIC) to totally reform and reposition agricultural insurance.

"To ensure this, I have directed the release of $5 million to NAIC to support its institutional reforms, strengthening of its operations and roll out of agricultural insurance products.

"I have also directed that NAIC ensures that it works with global reinsurance companies to make agricultural insurance in Nigeria of global standard".

In recognition of the fact that extreme weather effects are likely to become more prevalent due to climate change, Adesina pointed out that there is need to scale up agricultural insurance programmes to ensure that farmers and agribusinesses are protected.

He added: "In acknowledgement of the importance of risk management in agricultural investment, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development decided to reposition the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation in order to build its capacity and prepare it to more effectively meet the insurance needs of the agricultural sector.

Source - http://allafrica.com/