标题：Introduction of Agricultural Insurance Services in Benin: Lessons from a Preliminary Evaluation of Service Used by Farmers in Tori-Bossito (Southern Benin)
摘要：Price and production risks are among the critical challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural insurance is viewed as a good option to manage these risks, and is being promoted across Sub-Saharan African countries. Therefore, this study was conducted in Benin to evaluate how the agricultural insurance service meets the needs and expectations of smallholder farmers, in a context widespread production loss. A survey was carried out between June and July 2015 in Tori-Bossito district (southern Benin) where 120 farmers were selected based on stratified sampling. Structured interviews were conducted to collect data on farmers' socio demographic characteristics, their production system, their knowledge on the 'Assurance Mutuelle Agricole du Bénin (AMAB)' - the agricultural insurance company - and the use of its services. 90.8% of farmers reported production losses every year. The level of losses reached half of the expected production for 75% of respondents. However, the agricultural insurance company (AMAB) was unknown to 43.3% of farmers; and only 1% of them subscribed to an insurance policy. The offer of agricultural insurance did not meet farmers' expectation. As lesson learnt from this study, AMAB needs to upgrade its communication strategy, and service package, to meet farmers' expectations. Decision makers should also work for a combination of agricultural insurance with other drivers of rural development, e.g., the access to credit, to production inputs, and to market.
