CARICOM member states, since the establishment of the Ministerial Taskforce (MTF) by President Irfaan Ali, have been working towards the establishment of a sustainable agricultural insurance plan.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, over the last 10 years, more and more Small Island Developing States (SIDS) within CARICOM have been devastatingly affected by the impacts of climate change. Within the last decade, there have been increased instances of flooding, drought, and volcanic eruptions which have resulted in many economies in the region being adversely affected.

Last year, Guyana experienced one of the most devastating floods in the country’s history which left almost 90 per cent of the country’s agricultural sector completely destroyed. Other countries such as Suriname, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago have also suffered from natural disasters as a result of climate change.
During the 8th CARICOM Ministerial Taskforce (MTF) meeting, which was held on Friday, regional officials discussed the progress made in establishing sustainable agricultural insurance products in vulnerable member states.

Prior to Friday’s meeting, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, in his role as Chairman of the MTF, outlined the need for the development of such a product, given the fact that the impacts of climate change have, in recent years, proven to pose several economic challenges for vulnerable CARICOM countries.

While referencing Guyana’s most recent experience in 2021, Minister Mustapha had called the MTF to work towards engaging regional financial insurance institutions on the possibility of developing agricultural insurance products geared at strengthening the region’s disaster- recovery efforts.

Last October, during the launch of Caribbean Week of Agriculture, Minister Mustapha said that the government was working to promote the idea of establishing agricultural insurance in Guyana and in the region.

“The MTF has received presentations on two areas which included a possible agriculture insurance product for the region by a regional company pioneering such a product in a member state, and outlining the elements for the establishment of a regional agricultural insurance product. This is very critical for us, in the Caribbean, to implement such a product and ensure that our farmers are targeted,” Minister Mustapha said.

The MTF, through its Agriculture Insurance Technical working group, has been engaging various regional financial institutions on how a regional insurance product can be developed and introduced in the member states.

During the meeting on Friday, Shaun Bough, Programme Manager, Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, disclosed that the MTF’s Agriculture Insurance Technical working group recently met with representatives of GraceKennedy Limited, one of the Caribbean’s largest and most dynamic Food and Financial corporate entities, to discuss the progress made thus far with developing and implementing such a product.

“Late last year, we received a presentation from GraceKennedy Insurance out of Jamaica. They had presented on a particular product that they have ongoing in that member state and expressed an interest in scaling up and introducing it to the rest of the region. They have indicated that they have now been able to put a dedicated project team to get this product up and running, and that they are near completion of negotiating with their reinsurance to carry the product.

They have also submitted an implementation work plan and programme to which they have committed to [sic]. All in all, it amounts to a possible product being introduced by the first half of 2023,” Mr Bough said.

Additionally, Mr Bough indicated that the MTF’s technical working group has also engaged the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF).
“At our last meeting, we received a presentation from the CCRIF which indicated that they had several products available but in particular, they had a livelihood product that they were ready to go to market with. The technical working group also met with them recently and they indicated that they are prepared to launch their Livelihood Protection Policy in December 2022.

They’ve also indicated that their insurance partner will be Garden Insurance Group Limited and that they identified Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago as countries to launch the pilot for the product. This product is also intended to be up and running by the first half of 2023,” he noted.

The need for agricultural insurance has become more critical as governments are usually responsible for providing the resources to support affected groups in the aftermath of natural disasters.
Since taking office, the government has been working with its regional partners to strengthen its disaster readiness and recovery plan as climate change continues to pose a threat to various productive sectors across the region.