Insurance Initiative Could Protect Farmers Against Drought in Kenya

With the news of a coming drought looming over east Africa, small farmers walk a thin line between survival and ruin. But a new micro-insurance program could provide some measure of stability for residents in country's driest areas

22 September 2010

A herder in Kenya tends to his cattle, Aug 2010

In Kenya, the specter of drought is never far from the minds of the millions who make their living on the farm.

Agriculture is Kenya's most important product. The industry employs nearly three quarters of the country's workers and accounts for almost one fifth of the nation's gross domestic product.

Drought threatens the livelihoods of tens of millions in Kenya, but those most at risk are the millions who farm simply to survive. For those farmers, drought is both an economic risk and a life threatening event.

Many subsistence farmers in Kenya invest their life savings into each harvest, and a single season of light rain can set a family back for years.

In 2007, unusually low rainfall triggered a food shortage, sending food prices up and prompting calls for price controls. The effects of that drought continued through late 2009, when unusually heavy rains provided a rare surplus for the country.

In east Africa, serious drought is expected about once per decade. But recent reports of a La Nina weather system in the Pacific have many predicting yet another season of insufficient rain.