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Elton Manguwo
GOVERNMENT has moved to fortify current efforts to boost food security by tabling an insurance scheme for the 2023/24 Pfumvudza/Intwasa cropping season in a development targeting to insulate smallholder farmers against crop losses, as climate change’s harsh effects continue to threaten food production.
In an interview yesterday, Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) chief director Professor Obert Jiri said the scheme was a weather-indexed and area/yield insurance for smallholder farmers under the Pfumvudza programme.
“We will provide cover for crops under the Presidential Input Scheme (Pfumvudza) thus de-risking our rain fed agriculture,” said Professor Jiri.
The advent of climate change has made it necessary for farmers to have insurance to lessen losses that can affect production while boosting yields in line with the Government’s plans of planting 3 040 000 hectares for strategic crops with an expected yield of 3 782 658 tonnes this season.
The Government has been building the resilience of the agricultural industry to mitigate potential risks largely from climate change effects that include floods, droughts and uneven rainfall distribution.
“We will ensure that farmers pay attention to the principles of Pfumvudza/Intwasa production with the distribution of inputs influenced by the country’s various agro-ecological regions,” said Professor Jiri.
Commenting on the development, Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) secretary general Mr Paul Zakariya said the Pfumvudza/Intwasa insurance would go a long way in ensuring that losses are minimised and farmers begin to see the value of factoring insurance in their farm budgets.
This initiative by Government comes at a time when the financial sector has largely been hesitant to support agriculture with insurance schemes tailored for the agriculture industry despite the numerous opportunities that come with the ongoing transformation of the sector.
“Agriculture insurance has been at an all-time low given the abundant risks in the sector and the low uptake of the cover among smallholder farmers that remains alarming,” said Mr Zakariya.
As a capital-intensive sector, the agriculture industry can tap into insurance schemes’ ability to guarantee production and returns to facilitate farmers’ accessing of capital from financial institutions.
“Insurance cover has various advantages, as it can help farmers improve on agronomic practices that can ensure high production and productivity,” said Mr Zakariya.
During the 2023 budget presentation, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the Government in partnership with the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank, was developing the agriculture insurance for smallholder farmers.
“The expected project outcomes include a regulatory framework for agriculture insurance, setting up of knowledge exchange forums and other market development initiatives,” he said.
Online Reporter