Inhibitors and Motivators of Adoption of Agricultural Insurance in Nigeria

Agricultural risks constitute a fundamental challenge in Nigeria, hence the importance of agricultural insurance in managing farm risks cannot be underestimated. As the crop sub-sector contributes about 85% of the agricultural GDP in Nigeria, this study focussed on awareness and factors that can enhance the adoption of crop insurance among crop farmers in Nigeria. Data collected from 310 randomly sampled crop farmers in three agro-ecological zones in Nigeria using interview schedule were analysed with frequency and percentage counts. Majority (82.7%) of the crop farmers who were aware of crop insurance did not adopt. Major inhibitors cited include; complicated procedures (70.2%), accessibility (64.9%), high premium (63.2%) and religious/ethical considerations (41.2%). Respondents identified major motivating factors as; increased local availability of agricultural insurance offices (88.4%); higher propensity in getting claims (87.1%) and low bureaucratic procedures (79.7%). The study concludes that awareness is not a major determining factor in adoption of agricultural insurance in Nigeria. The study recommends that procedures should be less complicated; while agricultural insurance offices should be locally accessible to crop farmers. Insurance procedures should also be redesigned to enhance the adoption of crop farmers who are hindered by religious/ethical considerations.