Rex Insurance has launched a major push into climate-smart agriculture with a strategic partnership with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), to introduce weather-driven index insurance solutions designed to protect smallholder farmers in Nigeria from growing climate risks.
The initiative marks a significant step in the transformation of Rex Insurance into a data-led insurer, combining financial protection with real-time weather intelligence to help farmers make faster, more informed decisions, the insurer said in a statement.
Rex Insurance will leverage NiMet’s location-specific weather data in its Weather and Hybrid Index Insurance products to guide farmers on when to plant, how to manage their crops, and how to use farm supplies like seeds and fertiliser, while also automatically triggering payouts when extreme weather such as drought, flooding, or irregular rainfall occurs. This will help farmers plan, reduce losses, and not rely solely on compensation after damage.
“Our strategy is to redefine what insurance means for the agricultural sector,” said the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Rex Insurance, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu at an MoU signing ceremony with NiMet. “By combining insurance with actionable weather intelligence, we are giving farmers the tools to plan, adapt, and protect their livelihoods in the face of increasing climate uncertainty.”
Professor Charles Anosike, Director-General/CEO of NiMet, highlighted the agency’s 100-year history in weather observation and stressed that climate change increasingly threatens crops, livestock, and rural communities. He noted that weather index insurance uses measurable weather data to trigger payouts and combined with crop calendar forecasts, helps farmers make smarter planting and harvesting decisions.
Mrs Nwachukwu said, “Rex Insurance will deploy the solution through its distribution network, using extension agents equipped with mobile devices to deliver both insurance coverage and weather guidance directly to farming communities, ensuring that farmers in remote areas can access these services despite historical challenges with rural insurance penetration”.
Rex Insurance and NiMet will pilot the integrated solution under the GIZ–EU-funded VACE Programme, with a focus on demonstrating impact and accelerating nationwide adoption. The EU-VACE TARED (Agriculture Value Chain Facility – Transformative Agricultural Systems for Rural Economic Development) project is an initiative funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to transform Nigeria’s agricultural sector. This is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in partnership with the Nigerian government.