Factors influencing the use of agriculture insurance as a means for enhancing food security in Kiambu county in Kenya
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the factors influencing the use of Agriculture
insurance as a means to promoting food security in Kenya and specifically in Kiambu
County. The study was guided by the following objectives: to examine the level of awareness
of the existing Agriculture insurance schemes in Kiambu County, to examine how different
socio-economic factors influence the acceptance and use of Agriculture insurance as a tool
for promoting food security in Kiambu County and to assess the influence of stakeholders on
the use of Agriculture Insurance among farmers. Descriptive research design was used for the
study. The population for the study was farmers and key informants from organizations
offering Agriculture insurance in Kenya. Stratified sampling technique was used to sample
the respondents. A total of 259 respondents were targeted by the study (constituting 240
farmers and 19 key informants) out of which 199 responded (180 farmers and 19 key
informants) giving a response rate of 77%. Questionnaires and Interview schedules were
used as instruments for data collection. Piloting was done to test on the Validity and
reliability of the instruments. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics
while content analysis technique was used to analyze qualitative data collected using
interview schedules. Microsoft SPSS package was used to analyze the quantitative data.
Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages was used to analyze the data. Also
correlation analysis was used to analyze the extent to which the factors influence the use of
agriculture insurance in enhancing food security. The study found that awareness influences
the use of Agriculture insurance among farmers in Kiambu County. This was evidenced by
the fact that 30% of the respondents interviewed had not heard of Agriculture insurance and
the fact that only 10% of the respondents interviewed had Agriculture insurance cover for
their crops and livestock. The study also found that socio-economic factors such as the cost
of insurance, type of farming practiced, risks surrounding crops and livestock and income
generated from farming influences the use of Agriculture Insurance. The study finally found
that stakeholders influence the use of Agriculture insurance in through offering insurance at
high costs premiums, long procedures in the acquisition of the policy, delays in
compensation in case of loss, inadequate creation of awareness on the available policies and
limited risk coverage by the insurance firms. Using correlation analysis the study found that
socio-economic factors influences the usage of agriculture insurance the most (Pearson’s
correlation coefficient of r = 0.843), followed by stakeholders (Pearson’s correlation
coefficient of r = 0.798) and finally farmers’ awareness (Pearson’s correlation coefficient of r
= 0.551). The study concluded that lack of awareness, socio-economic factors and
stakeholder related factors influences the uptake of Agriculture insurance among farmers in
Kiambu County. It was recommended that more awareness should be created among farmers
on the benefits and the importance of use of Agriculture insurance. The study finally
recommends that another study to be done on the benefits of use of Agriculture insurance to
farmers which was not the focus of this study.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Collections
- Faculty of Education (FEd) [5964]