NiMet, REX Insurance Signs MoU to Protect Farmers from Climate Risks

News in Brief

-NiMet and REX Insurance have signed an agreement to roll out weather-index agricultural insurance for smallholder farmers.

-This partnership integrates insurance payouts with NiMet’s forecasts to protect smallholder farmers from climate shocks like droughts and floods. 

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has partnered with REX Insurance to provide weather-based insurance solutions designed to help Nigerian farmers safeguard their livelihoods against climate-related losses.

This initiative, which integrates insurance payouts with NiMet’s weather forecasts, will protect farmers against unpredictable weather events such as droughts and floods, and make agriculture both safer and more sustainable for farmers across the country.

The initiative, piloted under the EU-GIZ VACE programme, will be deployed by extension agents with mobile tech to reach remote areas, marking a tech-driven shift in Nigeria's agricultural risk management.

Partnership Ushers in New Era for Farmer Protection

During the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Prof. Charles Anosike, Director General and CEO of NiMet, boasted of the agency’s over 100 years of weather observation in Nigeria and its contribution to the country’s agriculture and aviation sectors. He explained that the agricultural sector is increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which can negatively impact crops, livestock, soil, water resources, and rural communities.

Anosike praised the concept of a weather index agricultural insurance scheme, which uses measurable weather data to trigger insurance payouts when conditions surpass certain thresholds. This approach, combined with crop calendar forecasting (a tool that predicts optimal planting and harvesting times based on climate data), is designed to give farmers access to timely weather and climate information, supporting smarter agricultural practices and boosting crop yields.

REX Insurance's Tech-Driven Commitment to Smallholders

Managing director and CEO of REX Insurance, Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, provided further insight into the company’s background. Formerly known as Royal Exchange Insurance and established in 1918 as Nigeria’s first insurance company, REX Insurance has embraced technology to enhance its products and services, especially in the agriculture sector.

Nwachukwu emphasised that their transformation focuses on helping smallholder farmers plan more effectively. She announced that, through this partnership, index-based insurance for smallholder farmers will soon become a reality in Nigeria.

REX Insurance will leverage NiMet’s location-specific weather data in its Weather and Hybrid Index Insurance products to guide farmers on planting times, crop management, and input use, while automatically triggering payouts for extreme events. The firm will deploy solutions via its distribution network, using extension agents with mobile devices to reach remote farming communities despite past rural penetration challenges.

Pilot and Broader Implications for Nigeria's Food Sector

This collaboration will pilot the integrated solution under the GIZ–EU-funded VACE Programme (Agriculture Value Chain Facility – Transformative Agricultural Systems for Rural Economic Development), focusing on impact demonstration and nationwide scaling. The programme, backed by the European Union and German BMZ, aligns with efforts to transform Nigeria’s agriculture amid frequent extreme weather impacting yields, incomes, and food security.

For Nigeria's over 30 million smallholder farmers reliant on rainfed systems, this weather-driven insurance arrives at a critical juncture. Erratic rains, floods in the north, and droughts elsewhere have long threatened food security, as noted in recent NiMet warnings. By blending data-led insurance with advisory services, the partnership could reduce post-harvest losses, encourage investments in resilient crops, and stabilise rural economies, key for stakeholders eyeing sustainable agric growth.

NiMet's accurate forecasts have already bolstered aviation and farming resilience under Anosike's leadership since late 2023. Meanwhile, REX's rebrand and tech pivot position it as a leader in agric insurance innovation, potentially inspiring similar models nationwide.

This MoU not only fortifies farmer resilience but signals a maturing ecosystem where meteorology meets finance, vital for Nigeria's push towards climate-smart agriculture in 2026 and beyond.