VOA标准英语2010-Swiss Foundation Offers Low Cost Insuranc

Cathy Majtenyi | Nairobi 28 April 2010

In Kenya, small-scale farmers are particularly vulnerable to the vagaries¹ of weather, often losing their entire investment when droughts or floods destroy their crops. Crop insurance is usually too costly² for such operations. But a Swiss-based foundation is now offering low cost insurance through a program called "Kilimo Salama," or "safe farming."

A farmer's worst nightmare. No rain means no crops; no crops means major losses.

Farmers who cultivate two hectares or less are at a disadvantage compared to operators of large-scale farms. Conventional insurance usually costs too much.

But now thanks to the Swiss-based Syngenta Foundation that's changed. Rose Goslinga is coordinator³ of Syngenta's Agricultural Index Insurance Initiative. "The only thing that farmers can do at the moment is pray for rain," she said. "From my personal standpoint, I always think that there must be more that we can do, there must be more that we can take into our own hands and make our faith happen."

Maize⁴ farmers with less than a hectare of land who want to be insured under the Kilimo Salama program can register at local shops participating in the program.

They receive a policy number through their mobile telephone.

Every time registered farmers purchase seeds, fertilizer or other inputs⁵ they pay an extra five percent on top of the price.

The farmers are compensated⁶ for these inputs if their crops fail because of drought or excess rain.

Josephat Langat owns a two-hectare wheat and maize farm near the western Kenyan town of Eldoret. He says it is worth it for him to pay a little extra for his supplies. "In a case where we do not have a lot of rainfall, it means we are going to lose all the crops. But this insurance policy is going to cover the farm inputs that we use in the farms, so that is going to give us the certainty of going back to the farms again if the rains do not come," he said.

Langat purchases his agricultural supplies at the Maraba Investments Ltd. in Eldoret.

The shop sells some 10 agricultural products that fall under Kilimo Salama. Approximately 200 farmers signed up for the insurance program within the first two weeks that Maraba Investments Ltd. began offering it.

Beatrice Kemboi is a director of Maraba Investments Ltd. She says Kilimo Salama is a win-win arrangement for both her and her customers. "When a farmer elects to join the insurance, we sell the product on wholesale⁷ so that the premium⁸ is reduced, so that he does not feel it, so that it cushions him and I have also sold the product. You get [farmers] coming because they know they would get a good price for the product they have chosen to insure. That adds value to me because I am able to get more farmers," she explained.

Kemboi says that every day she and her workers register from five to 10 farmers in the Kilimo Salama program.

And, in the event of a drought or flooding, Kemboi says both she and her farmers will be covered. "If they are able to get the money back, you know, they will be attracted to me because I will have introduced them to a good product," she said. "They will always be loyal to me, they will always be my customers."

The technology used in the Kilimo Salama program is both simple and sophisticated. When farmers purchase their inputs, the store clerk uses a mobile telephone equipped with a camera to scan specific barcode symbols that match the product. A text message confirming the policy number and sale is then sent automatically.

Solar-powered weather stations within the insurance area monitor rainfall amount and distribution in the field.

Data gathered by these stations is sent to UAP Insurance Company, one of the program's partners. The company monitors the data. When there is crop failure because of too little or too much rain, farmers are sent a text message informing them to receive compensation from the shop where they purchased their inputs.

Kilimo Salama reaches some 10-thousand farmers in the Kenyan provinces of Central, Rift⁹ Valley, and Western.

 

1 vagaries   

n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况

参考例句：

• The vagaries of fortune are indeed curious.\" 命运的变化莫测真是不可思议。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The vagaries of inclement weather conditions are avoided to a certain extent. 可以在一定程度上避免变化莫测的恶劣气候影响。 来自辞典例句

2 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

4 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

5 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

6 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

7 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

8 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

9 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。