Agricultural Insurance in Rwanda: Principles, Products, and Practices to Inform the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS)

Agriculture is fraught with risk. The type and severity of these risks varies by crop, market, agroecology, and institutional context. Rwanda’s fourth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA 4), which began in 2018 and continues to 2024, has prioritized a number of risk mitigation investments such as infrastructure development, technological innovation, and improved management of land, soils, and water. PSTA 4 also prioritizes innovation in financial services as a strategy for risk mitigation aimed at farmers and other value chain actors in the agriculture sector.

Agricultural insurance is rapidly emerging as a critical strategy to complement the PSTA 4 investments in infrastructure, technology, and natural resource management. The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) launched the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) in April 2019 under the title “Tekana Urishingiwe Muhinzi Mworozi” (“Smallholder farmer, feel safe, you are insured”).” By working with Rwanda’s premier private insurance companies, the NAIS is developing financially viable insurance products coupled with a 40% subsidy from MINAGRI to manage risks and losses in crops and livestock.

As the NAIS expands in scope and coverage, and as new resources and actors are mobilized to support the scheme, it is a good time to reflect on principles, products, and practices in agricultural insurance. This convening is organized by MINAGRI and IFPRI as a half-day event focusing on two specific themes and is designed to offer new insights and lessons learned in support of NAIS. The convening will draw on both Rwanda’s own experience to date as well as the experiences of international experts who have worked with agricultural insurance programs in other countries with challenges similar to Rwanda. 

IFPRI Participants

• Samson Dejene, Research Analyst, IFPRI
• Berber Kramer, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI
• David Spielman, Senior Research Fellow/Program Leader-Rwanda, IFPRI