Female smallholder farmers in Nigeria: how to improve insurance uptake
By Maryam Anike Yusuf — Associate, Busara Center for Behavioral Economics
According to the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA),agricultural productivity is higher for men compared to women. Common factors for this include low access to quality inputs, limited knowledge of good agronomic practices and risk mitigation strategies.
For risk mitigation, insurance can improve the resilience and productivity of women farmers globally. Part of Pula’s learning agenda in East and West Africa is focused on understanding how to make smallholder farmers, especially women, more resilient farmers through insurance.
An example of some of Pula’s learning outcomes is the research carried out in partnership with the Shell Foundation and the UK government in 2020. This explored how gender impacts insurance perceptions in East Africa. Pula found that there are generally fewer insured women than men. However, 81% of insured women farmers were comfortable investing more in their farms because of insurance compared to 72% of insured men. This suggests that there is a greater impact on agricultural investment when women are insured — despite more men being insured.
More recently, Pula, in partnership with the Busara Center, surveyed smallholder farmers in Nigeria to learn more about the views and behaviours of women towards insurance. Busara engaged over 200 women in qualitative and quantitative research. The qualitative findings highlighted the following:
- Decision-making agency and how this affects insurance uptake decisions,
- Perceptions toward credit and insurance, and
- The role of women farmer networks and associations in insurance uptake.
Based on 20 qualitative interviews with women from northwest Nigeria, we found the following insights:
Decision agency: Are women farmers in northern Nigeria making decisions on insurance uptake?
Data from a subsample of Pula’s database of farmers across northern Nigeria shows that fewer women have sole ownership or management responsibility of their farmland (58%) compared to men (72%). However, a majority of women farmers reported having shared or joint responsibility over their farmland either with a spouse or family member.
“I live with my husband, and children. When we want to make financial decisions, everyone has a say. But it’s basically me and my husband that make the financial decision” (Female Farmer, Kaduna State, Nigeria)
Most women Busara interviewed did have a say in the investment decisions for their farms (input purchases, farm labour and petty expenses). But few made decisions around investment in formal risk mitigation (insurance) due to poor awareness of insurance.
What are the experiences of women farmers with financial services or products and how does this impact insurance uptake?
Very few of the women interviewed had attempted to apply for an agricultural loan, mostly because of the fear of not being able to repay and the perceived difficulty in making a successful loan application.
“It is scary sometimes; I have seen a woman who was dragged to court. I decided if that is the way loan is, it is better I use the little resources I have” (Female Farmer, Kaduna State, Nigeria)
Both men and women complained about the unclear process of securing agricultural credit as well as the conditions for repayment. Despite these concerns, all women agreed on the importance of credit for agricultural sustainability.
The women Busara interviewed had less experience with insurance compared to credit. Much of the experience women had with insurance was through bundled products (mostly insured credit or inputs). None of the women interviewed had purchased or benefited from stand-alone insurance of any kind or knew of other women with such experiences.
What role can farming networks and associations play in insurance uptake by women farmers?
Although women farmers have different experiences and perceptions of credit and insurance, all women farmers interviewed belonged to farming co-operatives or associations. Some women are members of multiple farming groups, such as value chain specific farming groups like the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN). However, most women are more active in women-only farming societies that are not value chain specific. The main appeal of these associations and cooperatives is the entrepreneurial and agronomic learning opportunities, coupled with group based lending and referrals. These groups not only provide a social support system for women in a male dominated industry, but provide an avenue for women to build their capacity.
The main lesson on how to maximise women’s engagement with financial services, such as insurance and credit, is to improve awareness, understanding and accessibility. This can be done through co-operatives, civil society organisations with strong female representation and membership-based groups. In Nigeria, examples of these organisations include: women’s rotational savings groups, Quintessential Women’s Business Association, and the Nigerian Women Agro Allied Farmers Association (NIWAAFA). Awareness can be promoted through regular open days and workshops where providers talk about insurance coverage and women beneficiaries share their knowledge through testimonials.
To learn more about our findings, a recording of our webinar is available here.
