AGRICULTURE: A case of Botswana, France

In Botswana, a crop protection cover was introduced to reduce farmers’ debt obligations in case of crop failure due to natural disasters.

Under a scheme called Agriculture Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS), the Botswana government through its Ministry of Finance and local financial institutions provides the funds to pay claims under the scheme. The financial institutions are responsible for processing claims for submission to government on behalf of the farmers as part of the AGCS premium. Farmers on the other hand are responsible for paying the annual ACGS premium pegged at five percent of their annual instalment.

Since the scheme is meant to assist farmers in reducing their debt obligations in case of crop failure, it is wholly owned by the Government of Botswana through its Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.

The scheme covers seasonal inputs that include fertilisers, seeds, crop production fuel, insecticides, pesticides and other agro-chemicals used to protect crops. It also covers workers’ wages and salaries, packaging material, crop transportation costs.

The farm or field development is also covered. This includes de-stumping, land clearing, and labour for arable land operations, contract ploughing and planting, and fencing of arable fields or farms, graining expenses, land ripping and related operations.

The third aspect is that of farm machinery and equipment which include tractors, planters, cultivators, harrows, ploughs, crop spraying equipment and dairy or poultry production.

The scheme covers zero to 85 percent of the instalment falling due in that cropping year with the cover depending on the severity of an event, be it drought, floods, or hailstorm.

Meanwhile, last week in France, the French government tried to cushion its farmers against the influx of agricultural imports which has forced prices of the local produce to go down. The government availed 600 million Euros in loan guarantees as well as tax relief in an effort to appease the farmers who were demanding the ban of imported products.