Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) on Thursday, May 7, launched a subsidised insurance for greenhouse agriculture to protect farmers against climate shocks, while encouraging investment in commercial agriculture.

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The insurance covers greenhouse structures, crops, irrigation equipment and produce during transportation. The government will subsidise 40 percent of the insurance premium while farmers pay the remaining 60 percent.

Speaking during the launch, officials said Rwanda sees greenhouse farming as key to addressing shrinking farmland, climate change and rising demand for high-value export crops.

"Greenhouse farming requires heavy investment, and many farmers fear losing everything after disasters such as strong winds, pests or diseases,” said Joseph Museruka, national coordinator of agricultural and livestock insurance programs.

"We introduced this insurance because farmers had requested it for a long time,” he said. "A farmer can invest between 30 and 40 million francs in greenhouse farming, yet we frequently face strong winds and floods.”

Rwanda plans to increase land under export crops from 79,409 hectares to 97,100 hectares during that period, according to government figures.

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Patrice Rusanganwa, a cooperative leader of Muyanza Green Fresh Scheme in Rulindo District, said his cooperative operates 53 greenhouses that grow vegetables and fruits.

"A medium greenhouse measuring 8 meters by 30 meters costs about 11 million francs,” Rusanganwa said. "When strong winds, hailstorms or other disasters damage such infrastructure, replacing it becomes very expensive.”

"At our cooperative, we already have three damaged greenhouses,” he added. "This insurance scheme will give farmers peace of mind and increase investment because farmers will know there is support during difficult times.”

In Rusizi District, tomato, chili and green pepper farmer Marie Jeanne Mukandera said excessive heat recently destroyed part of her tomato harvest in Bugarama.

"We experienced excessive heat in Bugarama, and our greenhouses became too hot. The tomatoes dried because of the heat before reaching maturity,” she said. "We lost nearly Rwf4 million. If we had greenhouse insurance at that time, we would not have suffered such losses.”

As part of the insurance scheme, compensation will follow field assessments conducted jointly by insurance companies and agricultural experts to verify losses and prevent fraud.

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Financial institutions and insurance companies have already started receiving applications under the greenhouse insurance scheme. Sonarwa Insurance said it has so far received applications covering 28 greenhouses from 10 farmers.

Officials said farmers seeking insurance support must follow modern farming guidelines, including building greenhouses in recommended locations away from destructive winds and using approved seeds and fertilisers. Failure to follow those standards could be considered farmer negligence and affect compensation claims.