120 rural women farmers insured against extreme weather

One hundred and twenty members of the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP) are set to benefit from critical insurance coverage to shield their livelihoods against extreme weather.

Through a partnership between Hi-Pro and CARE International, these producers will gain protection under the Roots Resilience Parametric Insurance Programme.

The initiative is supported by a US$65,000 pledge from CARE International to sponsor 110 women, while Hi-Pro has committed $900,000 to provide coverage for 10 female livestock and poultry farmers.

Facilitated through the GraceKennedy (GK) Weather Protection Programme, this insurance model has already demonstrated its effectiveness, delivering rapid payouts to 30 JNRWP farmers following Hurricane Melissa.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green, welcomed the additional support for the women farmers, noting their critical role in the production, processing, and distribution of food.

“Our women have been involved in cultivation of crops, management of livestock, agricultural operations, developing agricultural products, ensuring that we have viable food systems. If you visit our farms, if you visit our farmers meetings, if you go across our parish markets, you will recognise that women are critical to our agricultural survival,” he maintained.

Green was speaking during the handover ceremony for the funding provisions, held at the GK General Insurance office in New Kingston on Monday.

He applauded the partners in the initiative, explaining that access to financing and risk reduction remain two of the biggest challenges facing the local agriculture sector.

“Many of our women farmers operate outside of the traditional financial system. In other words, they have to fund their own enterprises. They face difficulty accessing loans, insurance, or investment capital and grants. So I want to give the partners a big round of applause for making this happen,” Green stated.

Meanwhile, JNRWP Executive Board Member, Marva Allen-Simms, commended the initiative’s collaborators, noting that the beneficiaries’ insurance scheme includes two members who are disabled.

“Among our beneficiaries… are two of our sisters who are blind. In the new FACE of Food, disability is not a barrier to productivity or protection. By ensuring our sisters in the persons with disabilities community have the same climate-smart safeguards as every other producer, we are proving that our safety net is woven with threads of equity and justice,” Allen-Simms said.

GK Group’s Head of General Insurance, Tammara Glaves-Hucey, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to supporting the country’s agriculture sector, particularly female farmers, as they work to strengthen Jamaica’s food security.

“Whether it’s through parametric insurance that triggers quick payouts after a storm, or tailored coverage that understands the unique risks of rural production, we are committed to ensuring that a bad season doesn’t mean a closed business,” she stated.

Hi-Pro Vice-President, Colonel (Ret’d) Jamie O’Gilvie, and CARE International Caribbean Humanitarian Response Lead, Jonathan Arogeti, emphasised the critical timing of the scheme.

They noted that as Jamaica and the wider Caribbean experience increasingly frequent and intense weather events, this support provides the rapid relief farmers need to recover quickly.

- JIS News

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