The issue of livestock insurance has grown over the years since the current edition of the LEGS Handbook, which was produced in 2014 to provide standards and guidelines for appropriate and timely livestock-based livelihoods responses in emergencies, using a participatory and evidence-based approach. At that time, although there was a growing interest in insurance, there was limited documentation to provide an evidence base for inclusion in the Handbook.
In preparation for the next edition of the Handbook, the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) commissioned a Discussion Paper to explore this issue, and the key findings from the Paper will be presented in the Livestock Insurance webinar. The Paper assesses livestock insurance schemes and explores what evidence exists regarding the effective implementation of livestock insurance schemes to support the livelihoods of communities affected by crises. The paper analyses the impact of these schemes on livelihoods, based on the LEGS livelihoods’ objectives, and makes recommendations on the relevance of livestock insurance to LEGS and the next edition of the LEGS Handbook. The paper discusses two livestock insurance systems – ‘traditional’ systems and emerging livestock insurance schemes.
An agricultural economist, Yacob Aklilu has more than 35 years of experience in agriculture and livestock marketing systems in the Horn of Africa and humanitarian assistance, focusing on practical programming and policy support to international aid donors, NGOs, and African governments and regional organizations. Yacob has worked as a livestock policy adviser at the African Union’s Interafrican Bureau of Animal Resources, and also provided livestock marketing and drought management support to the USAID Pastoralist Livelihoods Initiative in Ethiopia. He also contributed to the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS), and has worked on long-term trend analysis of livelihoods in pastoralist areas of east Africa. He holds an M.Sc. in Marketing and Management, and a B.Sc. in Agriculture, major in Agricultural Economics.