Subsidised policy for Pfumvudza/Intwasa farmers

Sunday Mail Reporter

THE Government is set to provide a subsidy for a micro-insurance product for all Pfumvudza/Intwasa farmers in the upcoming summer cropping season.

This comes as the country’s short-term insurers successfully trialled the “Zimbabwe Agricultural Pool”, modelled around similar pools in East Africa, during the 2023/2024 farming season in Goromonzi.

According to the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ), the Zimbabwe Agricultural Pool will be operational from the beginning of the 2024/2025 summer cropping season.

In an engagement with the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Professor Mthuli Ncube on Wednesday last week, the industry made a request for the Government to provide a premium subsidy for vulnerable small-scale farmers.

The insurance firms say a subsidy will boost uptake of the micro-insurance product. Said ICZ chairperson Mr David Nyabadza: “Our appeal to Treasury is that if they could consider also providing some funding for the premium subsidies.”

Prof Ncube said the Government will provide a subsidy for all Pfumvudza/Intwasa farmers in the upcoming season.

“The El Niño-induced drought implies that farmers are vulnerable to climate change, and I would like to congratulate the industry for the insurance product in the Goromonzi district, with an uptake of 4 014 farmers,” he said.

“I really believe that every Pfumvudza/Intwasa farmer should be covered by some insurance; they should buy some and we should subsidise some.

“Next season, we should begin providing seed, fertiliser, hydrogel, advisory services and finally, microinsurance, to every Pfumvudza/Intwasa farmer.”