Some farmers in Rurenge Sector, Ngoma District, say they do not fully understand crop insurance, yet disasters often strike unexpectedly, destroying their crops and causing them losses when they were expecting a harvest.
They made these remarks on September 19, 2025, during the launch of the 2026A planting season at Mashyoza 2 site in Rurenge Sector, Ngoma District, covering 117 hectares cultivated by 342 farmers grouped under the SUBIZA Cooperative (Shishikarira Ubuhinzi Uteze Imbere Ibigori Zahura Abahinzi).
In Ngoma District, the total land to be cultivated this season is 47,605 hectares. Of this, maize will cover 22,239 ha, beans 22,368 ha, soybeans 169 ha, rice 1,195 ha, cassava 1,500 ha, and potatoes 134 ha. In the previous 2025A season, maize was planted on 20,854 hectares, while in 2025B beans were grown on 21,677 hectares.
However, the figures remain very low compared to insured crops. District officials say that in the last season only 526 hectares of maize and 10 hectares of beans were covered by insurance.
Mukamana Ancilla told AGACIRO PRESS:
“We expect a good harvest because the rains came early, but regarding crop insurance, I am not part of it. The consequences are inevitable because when crops are destroyed, it means I get nothing.”
When asked why she does not insure her crops, she said:
“We simply don’t understand how it works, and we don’t know what one must do to get insurance.”
Farmer and leader of the SUBIZA Cooperative, Stanislas Habiyakare, recognized as a model maize farmer, admitted that there is still a long way to go in getting farmers to insure their crops.
He explained:
“What we know is that once you insure your farm, you are assured of a harvest whether weather conditions change or not. Previously, among our 342 cooperative members, only 31 had insured their crops.”
Habiyakare added that those who insured their crops but lost them received compensation:
“For example, we insured our 1.5-hectare farm. The insurance company we work with, Radiant, deposited Rwf 207,000 into our account because part of the field did not yield well.”
The government established an agricultural and livestock insurance scheme to give farmers confidence that they would not face total losses, as crops and livestock are covered. This insurance program, launched in April 2019, has a 40% government subsidy on premiums.
Cyriaque Mapambano Nyiridandi, Ngoma District Vice Mayor in charge of Economic Development, spoke about the strong start to the 2026A planting season and their expectations.
He said:
“This site is within what we call ‘FOBASI.’ We want to put in place all the necessary agricultural techniques to increase yield per hectare. If things go well, these sites (FOBASI) should be able to double current production.”
On why many farmers are not yet insuring their crops despite the risks of disasters, he noted:
“It is true. We strongly encourage farmers to embrace crop insurance, especially for maize. Weather patterns change, rains may fail, but with insurance you have something to fall back on.”
He further urged farmers to cultivate all the land allocated for farming.
As part of Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), the government plans to invest $25 million (over Rwf 33.8 billion) to strengthen the crop and livestock insurance scheme.
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