More farmers are buying insurance for their livestock. In a region that is increasingly relying on dairy farming, farmers are increasingly insuring their cattle against disease and death. Some, like Joseph Murungi, are doing this after painful losses. Mr Murungi,who has a stock of eight dairy cattle, lost one of his most productive cows a few months ago. It used to bring in a daily income of more than Sh1,000. The farmer realised that it made economic sense to buy insurance for his remaining stock. “When my cow died my wife and I were inconsolable. It was a good cow and was producing more than 30 litres daily. We sold a litre at Sh35. It was worth at least Sh150,000, so you can imagine our pain when it died,” said Murungi. The death convinced him and a number of dairy farmers to insure their herds. Insurance brokers said that livestock cover, hitherto a strange concept for farmers in the region, was catching up. "For as little as Sh800 a month, a farmer can get compensated for losing a mature dairy cow," said Henry Kinyua of Hawk Bay Insurance Brokers, Meru branch. The firm has been at the forefront of in selling the concept in the region. The premium is calculated by certified veterinarians who ascertain the value of each animal. “Though at first it was difficult to convince some, many are taking it up after weighing the risks. Some have lost livestock before. No farmer wants to lose a cow or bull worth, for example, Sh200,000,” said Mr Kinyua. The firm also offers insurance for coffee and tea crops, but so far, livestock insurance is proving to be the most popular. “We compensate livestock owners in case of theft and disease. We have done a lot of quotations from different parts of Meru in regard to livestock insurance and from flower farms in Timau area,” says the firm's managing director, Sam Ncheeri. He said the farmers who had embraced agricultural insurance have been on the front line in promoting it in the region. “Though we offer general insurance, healthcare, life and pensions and marine and aviation, we are happy because agricultural insurance is taking root. Most of those we meet don’t know much about insurance but they soon embrace it after we equip them with information.” Source - https://www.standardmedia.co.ke