follow us

Following the last seminar for Algeria-Morocco-Tunisia on the agricultural cooperative system in Maghreb, the think tanks of the 3 countries decided to concentrate on the insurance and risk management in agriculture, aimed at the following objectives:

​

• To give an overview of the sector on agricultural insurances in Maghreb;

​

• To identify the obstacles related to the development of insurances and to propose solutions;

​

• To promote sharing of experiences;

​

• To analyse the relevance and efficiency of the latest innovations in the sector.

​

Despite the increase in farmers’ exposure to numerous risks in these countries which could lead to high losses in terms of harvest and revenues, the percentage of insured farmers remains very low and they are few protected against these threats. Thus, this 3rd sub-regional seminar organised on the 16th and 17th of May 2017 in Tunis had the objective of identifying the reasons hindering penetration rate to grow and to find innovative solution in order to protect Maghrebi farmers facing the multiplication of risks.

​

This workshop gathered around 50 participants representing the different actors intervening in the agriculture insurance sector (farmers’ unions, agricultural cooperatives, insurers, Ministries concerned by this issue, researchers …).

​

The different introductive interventions and the presentation on the European experience in terms of agricultural insurance have led to the following conclusions:

​

• The State remains a core actor in the agricultural insurance sector;

​

• There is not a single agricultural risk management policy and only one way to support the agricultural insurance market;

​

• There is a trend in individualisation of the offers proposed to farmers;

​

• The adhesion level remains a concern in Europe.

​

The workshop was later-on divided into three debate workshops, the first dedicated to the levels of adhesion and the reasons which may explain the low penetration rate, the second on the diversity of risks and actors, and finally the latter focusing on instruments and innovations in the sector.

​

Each of these round tables was introduced by a presentation made by one of the experts mobilised in order to demonstrate the European situation followed by testimonies from actors of the agricultural sector from each of the three countries represented, in order to give an overview of the context in these countries and to present case studies or specific projects.

​

During the first workshop, several brakes, points and questions were highlighted during the debates between the delegations and the experts:

​

• The deficiencies in the organisation of the profession are among the main obstacles to the increase in the penetration rate. The involvement of producers’ groups could allow farmers to participate in the design of insurance products;

​

• Risk education: Who should explain how insurances work? How to do it?

​

• Issues of trust, transparency and insurance effectiveness for farmers are key to increasing the penetration rate;

​

• Cumbersome procedures, long case processing time and payment delays remain recurring issues for farmers.

​

• Purchasing an agricultural insurance is a condition for the granting of bank loans in many cases. It seems necessary then to be interested also in the banking offer for farmers, the majority of whom remain “unbanked” in the Maghreb.

​

The objective of the second workshop was to present the different types of agricultural insurances, the existing actors and to analyse the various models of agricultural risk management. The discussions resulted in several remarks and common points:

​

• There are four different models of agricultural risk management depending on the financial capacities of the farmers and the knowledge of the risks with a greater or lesser involvement of the State: exceptional aid, guarantee funds, mutual funds and agricultural insurance. Each of these tools cannot replace another one and an effective system must offer a combination of these solutions;

​

• Regardless of the agricultural risk management system, the State will always have a core role to fulfil, whether directly or indirectly through subsidies, for example;

​

• Professional organisations could play a key role in risk education and represent a source of products proposals and validations. They are also in a position to offer agricultural insurance as in France which can circumvent the issue related to the lack of producers’ confidence. Farmers must be mobilised by the State, insurers and reinsurers to allow for better adoption of the concept;

​

• The establishment of an efficient agricultural insurance system requires a comprehensive statistical database covering several years;

​

• Due to constraints and obstacles encountered with traditional insurances (high management costs, geographical barriers, cumbersome procedures, slowness of the compensation systems, etc.), new products are currently introduced (m-insurance, index insurance...) mobilising new stakeholders such as national organizations of mapping and meteorology, telephone operators...

​

During the last round table, the European expert and the stakeholders from the mobilised countries introduced several innovations in the agricultural insurance sector: index insurance, m-insurance, grassland insurance, participatory insurance orTakaful...

​

Innovation in the agricultural insurance sector responds to a constant search to satisfy the needs of farmers, to have better costs control through the use of new technologies for instance and to conquer new markets known hitherto "uninsurable". These new tools also allow for more appropriate and fair pricing based on reliable data sets, more flexible and customised offers and more transparency.

​

The presentations by the representatives of the three countries revealed that the strategic orientations are not harmonised in the Maghreb. However, the similarity of the contexts reveals shared concerns illustrated notably by the vigorous nature of the debates. These countries are facing strong expectations, heightened by increasing droughts, the multiplication of diseases and the other effects of climate change. Each State supports its farmers through a variety of subsidies, but they are looking for more sustainable, more effective and more long-term responses to farmers' needs and means.

​

The experts underlined thus several essential points and gave various axes for successfully reviving the agricultural insurance system in the Maghreb:

​

• Diversify offers and propose a wide range of products;

​

• Assert the core role of the State;

​

• Simplify inquiry processes and promote a clear understanding of existing arrangements;

​

• Build comprehensive statistical databases;

​

• Build trust by mobilising the producers for instance;

​

• Capitalise on past experiences in order to adapt the products.

​

Other aspects have been few discussed, such as price risk or health crisis measures. Moreover, the harmonisation of regulatory frameworks in the Maghreb could also facilitate the involvement of private actors and ultimately progress towards common reinsurance.

​

​

You can download the full report of the seminar and the guidelines notes for each of the three countries by clicking here.

​

In addition, you can discover the presentations of the experts and participants by clicking on this link.

​

​