Factors influencing livestock insurance in Uganda

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the factors influencing livestock insurance in Mbarara district. Therefore, it aims to find out whether gender, age, location of the farmer, cost of insurance, training on the insurance schemes, effectiveness of insurance, type of livestock reared, monthly income of the farmer, have a significant relationship on livestock insurance. It used primary data and was collected using an e-mail questionnaire on a sample of 107 farmers. The analysis was done using frequency distribution, Pearson chi-square, and logistic regression. In the results, slightly less than a half of the respondents incurred moderate costs of insurance (48.60%).Majority of the respondents didn't receive sensitization(72.90%) i.e. were not trained on how to work with insurance schemes. Slightly more than a half of the respondents didn't receive government subsidies to support them on insurance schemes(58.88%).Half of the farmers had insured their livestock (50.47%). In the bi-variate level analysis, it was found out that the significant factors that influenced livestock insurance were; level of education, literacy rates, government subsidies access, awareness of insurance, understanding of how to insure, effectiveness of insurance schemes, source of information about insurance, scale of farming and livestock type reared whose p-values were less than 0.1(P<0.1). In the multivariate analysis, the factors or predictors that significantly influenced livestock insurance in Uganda were; livestock reared(pigs),scale of farming(large scale),effectiveness of insurance schemes (yes),and level of education (none). Those who reported that the insurance schemes were effective were twelve times more likely not to insure their livestock than those who reported that the insurance schemes were not effective(OR=12.39756).Farmers who reared pigs were less likely not to insure their livestock compared to those who reared cattle (OR=0.0329172).Those who never attended any education were eighty times more likely not to insure their livestock than those who attended secondary level (OR=80.31413). The findings indicate the need to; i) improving marketing strategies. ii) enlightening large scale farmers about the importance of insurance and its impacts on their farm activities. iii) extending education services to all parts of the country.