(a) What is agricultural insurance? [2 mark ]
(b) Explain briefly the following types of insurance policies for agricultural production: (i) Specific enterprise insurance; (ii) Fire disaster insurance; (iii) Life assurance.
(c) Discuss the process of egg formation in a hen. (10 marks)
Explanation
(a) Meaning of agricultural insurance: It is a risk management mechanism put in place to compensate farmers for losses due to natural calamities such as floods, drought and outbreaks of pests and diseases or due to declines in the prices of agricultural commodities.
b) Explanation of types of insurance policies for agricultural production
(i) Specific enterprise insurance: This is an insurance policy that covers a particular farming enterprise e.g. crop insurance, livestock insurance. It protects farmers against loss of crops/livestock due to disasters or calamities
(ii) Fire disaster insurance: It is an agricultural insurance policy which protects the farmer against losses due to fire outbreak
(iii) Life assurance: This covers the farmer, farm workers and farmer’s household in the event of death
(c) Process of egg formation in a hen
– The yolk is formed in the ovary and released into the infundibulum
– Fertilization of the egg occurs in the infundibulim
– The egg spends fifteen minutes in the infundibulum before it moves into the magnum
– The egg stays for three hours in the magnum where part of the albumen is secreted on the yolk and chalaza is formed before it passes into the isthmus
– The shape of the egg and the two shell membranes are formed in the isthmus within seventy-five minutes before it passes into the uterus
– In the uterus, the egg stays for nineteen to twenty hours and the shell is formed and minerals are also added to the egg before it passes into the vagina
– The egg stays shortly in the vagina before it is then laid through the cloaca