Wajir families compensated for livestock loss

A herdsman stands next to his newly bought cattle in Wajir. He was among those compensated for cattle that died during drought. PHOTO/Riccardo Gangale

What you need to know:

  • Index-Based Livestock Insurance product (IBLI) is aimed at giving pastoralists a fall back plan in cases of natural hazards
  • The IBLI program in Kenya is funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Government of Australia and the European Union

An insurance company has compensated 100 families in Wajir for livestock that died during a dry spell last year.

The payout amounting to Sh500, 000 will enable pastoralists get out of subsistence cattle-keeping and also stop selling the animals at throwaway prices to brokers in dry seasons.

Takaful Insurance Chief Executive Officer Mr Hassan Bashir said the Index-Based Livestock Insurance product (IBLI) is aimed at giving pastoralists a fall back plan in cases of natural hazards but they will be required to enroll at a small fee.

“Our goal is to show pastoralists that they can use a fair and ethical business model to protect their assets from a natural hazard of keeping livestock in East Africa,” said Mr Bashir in Wajir town.

The livestock insurance conforms to the Islamic concept of takaful and risks are shared among a group of participants, who through a contract called tabbaru(donation), contribute money to a risk fund.

In the case of a payout, the fund makes payments commensurate with the contributions received.

The 30 women and 71 men from Wajir who benefitted had insured their animals in August last year in the programme launched jointly between Takaful Insurance of Africa (TIA) and the International Livestock research Institute with financial assistance from UK and Australian governments.

ILRI’s project leader Mr Andrew Mude challenged the government to formulate livestock policies that make insurance products attractive to pastoral communities in Northern Kenya as it was their main source of living valued at over Sh46 billion.

“This payout is critical for building confidence in the concept of insurance for the pastoral, drought-prone regions of East Africa, where life revolves around livestock and droughts can spell disaster,” said Mr Mude.

The programme, if successful will be expanded throughout East Africa where over 70million people in semi arid and arid areas and solely rely on livestock for their livelihood with studies showing all meat consumed in east Africa comes from arid areas.

At least 4,000 pastoralists in northern Kenya from various background have bought IBLI contracts since the project launch in 2010, an indication that there is demand for livestock insurance.

A study by ILRI also showed that pastoralists communities diets for people with insurance improved The IBLI program in Kenya is currently funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Government of Australia and the European Union.