Lors du Council of Ministers on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, the Beninese government announced the pilot project to integrate index-based agricultural insurance to increase the resilience of small businesses farmers facing the effects of climate change.

The project will cover the 2025-2026 agricultural season and will benefit 100,000 small producers and livestock farmers in all departments. According to the report of the Council of Ministers, “maintaining the performance of our agriculture over time is faced with increasing climate risks such as droughts and floods, which threaten the yields and livelihoods of producers. In fact, they cannot easily access the credits that are essential for investment.” According to the information of the said Council, “did agricultural actors mobilize to set up the Mutual Agricultural Insurance of Benin (AMAB) but the model did not integrate all risks and was also not different from that of conventional insurance. The experience was therefore inconclusive. However, the need for insurance specific to the agricultural sector is significant, especially with the effects of climate change. Meanwhile, most financial institutions, due to the lack of an adequate protective measure, are not particularly interested in improving agricultural finance.”