Kenya has in the last four years lost Sh1.2 trillion in crop and livestock farming to drought. Vincent Ngari and Richard Githaiga of the Departments of Livestock and Agriculture, while making presentations during the Technical Workshop on Agriculture Index Insurance at the College of Insurance, Nairobi, on Friday, advised farmers to take up the new Kenya Livestock Insurance Programme (KLIP). KLIP was rolled out last year by the Ministry of Agriculture, the World Bank and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) to compensate farmers who buy insurance cover against the effects of drought. It aims to reduce the impact of risk to farmers, increase farmers' access to inputs through credit, improve agricultural productivity, provide social protection to the poor and reduce the economy's vulnerability to the effects of natural hazards. The programme targets 14 pastoral counties of Northern Kenya: Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit, Turkana, West Pokot, Baringo, Laikipia, Isiolo, Samburu, Garissa, Tana River, Lamu, Kajiado and Narok. Githaiga called on the Government to promote the development of a viable agricultural insurance market through a private public partnership framework. "For the programme to succeed, key stakeholders like Ministry of Agriculture, farmers, insurers, Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), financial institutions, and agro-dealers should work together," Githaiga said. Joseph Owuor from IRA noted that the firm has from August 2014, embarked on setting a legal and regulatory framework for index based insurance (IBI) in the Kenyan market. "An IBI steering committee was formed bringing on board stakeholders from within and beyond the insurance market and together with a World Bank consultant, the committee developed a draft policy paper in January 2015," Owuor said. He called on insurance companies to abide by the laws for better implementation of the programme. From October 1st, insurance companies are expected to abide by the rules. The new laws include New Insurance Law (Bill 2015)– currently before National Assembly," he said. Source - http://www.standardmedia.co.ke