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Edgar Vhera Agriculture Specialist Writer

AT least 31 747 farmers in Mwenezi and Rushinga have jointly been paid US$123 903 for loss of yields under the pilot Area Yield Index Insurance (AYII), as the Government pushes to cover all Pfumvudza beneficiaries under the scheme.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Dr John Basera revealed this at the official  pay out ceremony in Rushinga district.

“Insurance has always been perceived to be a product for the elite with only about 3 percent of farmers in Zimbabwe taking insurance as an input in their production cycles. The climate-proofed Presidential Input Scheme has shown overwhelming evidence of success compared to the conventional way of farming.

“For the 2020/21 agriculture season, Pfumvudza/Intwasa smallholder farmers achieved an average yield of 5, 28 tonnes per hectare against the average national small-scale farmer yield of 1, 16 tonnes per hectare. The same difference was also noted for 2021/22 season where farmers under Pfumvudza averaged 1, 39 tonnes per hectare against a national average of 0, 82 tonnes per hectare,” said Dr Basera.

However, the impact of climate change is taking its toll on agriculture production, with farmers especially those that rely on the rain-fed system on the receiving end. If farmers are to seriously take farming as a business, they must take insurance and own labour as an input into the production process. De-risking of agriculture production will allow farmers to receive some form of payment in the event of crop and livestock failure due to natural phenomena such as drought, floods, hailstorms and many others.

“Though the dividends for Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme are so glaring, climate change reduced the yield levels by about 74 percent from 5, 28 to 1, 39 tonnes per hectare for the 2021/22 as compared to the 2020/21 season. This alone calls for concerted effort to de-risk agriculture at any cost to ensure food and nutrition security for the country,” continued Dr Basera.

Pula Advisory and AFC working with the Government piloted the area yield index insurance for the 31 747 Pfumvudza/ Intwasa farmers in Rushinga and Mwenezi districts. This cover was for yield loss against climate hazards, which include droughts, dry spells, floods, windstorm, frost, hail and pests and diseases.

“The insurance index used a pre-determined and agreed yield level in specific micro-ecological zones and compensates farmers an agreed percentage (in most cases 60 – 70 percent) of the loss below pre-determined yield level based on production systems, micro-ecological zone attributes and history of farmers,” added Dr Basera.

Dr Basera went on to disclose that the idea of the scheme was to allow for informed evaluation of the impact, relevance and the value of the insurance product to the farming communities and the nation at large.

“Now that the pilot was successfully implemented with the Government noting its importance in the communal farming communities agro-food systems, the Ministry is keen to see the speedy implementation of the AYII to all Pfumvudza farmers in Zimbabwe,” said Dr Basera.

AFC Holdings group chief executive officer, Mr Francis Macheka concurred saying plans were underway to expand this pilot beyond the two districts and ensure that insurance became an accessible product to all farmers.

“AFC Insurance company is pleased to be part of the nation’s journey towards driving food security and pushing forward Vision 2030 and we are embarking on a rapid growth programme, which will see AFC Insurance Company establishing a nationwide presence in all provinces and districts by the end of 2023, leveraging on our existing branch networks,” said Mr Macheka.

Host farmer Mrs Nhete said: “We used to think insurance was for the large and rich farmers. We are grateful to AFC and our Ministry for including smallholder farmers in this transformational programme”.