Farmers Finally Get Cover as SKN Launch Agri Insurance

Farmers and fishers in St Kitts and Nevis finally seeing something to smile ‘bout. The government teaming up with the Regional Economical Agri-Insurance Programme (REAP) to bring a real safety net — not charity — for the people who feed the nation.

REAP ain’t your old-school insurance. It use satellite data and weather indexes instead of long, drawn-out inspections. When drought, storm or flood push losses past a certain point, payouts trigger automatically — no waiting months for somebody to “come and check.”

Best part? The government covering the premium for registered farmers and fishers. That mean no extra burden on the people doing the real work. Coverage will extend to crops, livestock and fisheries — the full chain of local food production — with payouts expected within two to three weeks of a disaster trigger.

Agriculture Minister Samal Duggins call it a “vital pillar of national resilience,” saying farmers and fishers are not luxuries — they’re the backbone of food security. And with climate change hitting harder each year, this step could make the difference between recovery and ruin.

But Run Di Chat say: insurance alone won’t fix the system. It need proper training, infrastructure, and transparent monitoring to make sure the right people benefit. If REAP deliver like promised, SKN could finally turn fragility into real strength.