Kenyan Dairy farmers targeted by the East African Dairy Development Program of Heifer International are set to benefit from an innovative livestock insurance product that combines a health package to reduce animal mortality due to preventable diseases. A one-year premium plan inclusive of animal care package to prevent death of cattle from diseases caused by parasites and malnutrition will cost a farmer 3.5 percent of the value of each animal. Development of this product which is a break-away from conventional insurance products was informed by a similar animal care insurance product implemented in Zambia that dramatically reduced annual mortality rate of cattle from 22 percent to 1.6 percent. The new product is being piloted in Kipkaren and Surungai areas in the North Rift region of Kenya, but would expand to serve all qualifying farmers in the region within the EADD partnership who own nearly 700,000 cows, worth an estimated $50 million.

http://www.northriftnews.com/east-african-dairy-farmers-implement-innovative-livestock-insurance/