Despite the growing population of small livestock and cattle in Rwanda, low uptake of insurance could erode the gains, experts in veterinary services and insurance sector have said.

Statistics show that goats increased to 2,844,001 in 2020 up from 1,891,612 from 1992 while the population of pigs grew by five-fold; from 244,980 pigs in 1992 to 1,441,077 pigs in 2020.

 Rwanda’s chicken population increased by 9 percent per year, from 3.5 million in 2010 to over 7.6 million.

The number of cows rose steadily from 813,417 in 1992 to 1,449,888 in 2020.

However, according to Solange Uwituze, the Deputy Director General in charge of Animal Resources Research and Technology Transfer at Rwanda Agricultural and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), only dairy cows, pigs and chickens benefit from subsidized livestock insurance.

She said that since 2019 only 44,221 dairy cows, 3,020 pigs and 208,749 chickens have been insured by the scheme in which the government has invested Rwf457.3 million.

Government subsidizes the cost at 40 per cent.

The low uptake of livestock insurance could threaten the farmers’ income, officials said.

Pigs and chickens have been found as small livestock that are prone to deadly diseases.

"We are training key players in the insurance sector such as veterinarians, research stations managers, and insurance companies among others to know the current status and challenges after two years because there is a very low uptake of livestock insurance. This will help us to know where we should put in more effort,” she said.

She said that there is still to sensitize farmers considering that very few of them have understood the role of crop and livestock insurance.

"Farmers should learn from other farmers who insured their livestock to assess how it works and benefits them,” she said.

So far, she said, the government is working with five insurance companies that have crop and livestock insurance products.

Government seeks to have 10 percent of livestock insured in 2021/22 fiscal year with subsidies.

Delays in compensation

Uwituze said that delays in compensating farmers under the scheme were discouraging adding that the issue is being addressed.

"We had planned that farmers should be compensated within 15 days when their livestock die. But this was not done. We should ensure timely compensation to the affected farmers,” she said.

Emmanuel Irankunda in charge of crop and livestock insurance in UAP Rwanda said that timely compensation has been assured adding that farmers should be paid within 15 days.

He said the company started to work with the government this fiscal year in the subsidized scheme but introduced an agricultural insurance scheme 10 years ago adding, however, that there is still low uptake.

"From July, we have received requests of 172 cows to be insured, 70,000 chickens and 300 pigs. In 2019/2020, we had insured over 9,000 cows and 90,000 chickens,” he said.

Jean De Dieu Niyitanga, The Veterinarian in Rwamagana District said that 832 cows, 8,000 chickens and 700 pigs were insured in the 2020/21 fiscal year.

"This year 1,200 cows, 150,000 chickens, 2,000 pigs will be insured. The deadly diseases should be a lesson to farmers,” he said.