Insuring Farmers against Disasters
By Wezi Nungu, Communications Officer, Malawi.
For the past five years, Malawi has been hit by at least one natural disaster every year. From cyclones to drought to diseases and pests. This has been detrimental as farmers largely depend on rain fed agriculture, without an insurance against natural disasters that seem to be recurring.
The United Nations World Food Programme in Malawi introduced an insurance grant with the Disaster Management Unit of World Vision Malawi. This grant, worth MK122,939,400 has assisted more than 3,441 farmers to help reduce their vulnerability in agriculture.
Memory from Geneti village in Phalombe has been a member of the agriculture insurance since 2020. She narrates how the scheme has helped her for the past three years.
“Climate change has really affected the way we farm here; there are so many disasters happening, and year in and year out, we lose our investments. Aside the knowledge on good farming methods, I think the insurance is good to help us offset the risks,” says memory.
“I joined the insurance program in 2020, and luckily for that first year, WFP paid for the bill in full. I now pay the insurance premiums on my own, of which in 2021 it was MK3, 700 and in 2022 it was MK9, 650. I can attest that I have had peace of mind since joining this program,” says Memory.
Aside maize, Memory also grows pigeon peas, however due to cyclone Freddy, her crops did not do well this year. “I normally harvest between 15-18 50kg bags of maize on my piece of land. But this year I only came back with 8.5 bags because most of it got rotten due to the effects of the cyclone,” she says.
She further says the insurance company gave her a pay out after the cyclone. “I received Mk28,000 earlier this year because of the loss incurred during the cyclone. It wasn’t much because everything is expensive now, but I was able to use that money to pay for some basic necessities and supplement on food,” says Memory.
For the 2023/2024 growing season, farmers will be expected to pay MK25, 000 as part of their insurance premiums.
“This insurance is a new concept that a lot of us are beginning to get used to; it’s not easy but hopefully it becomes even more profitable in the future. I like it because I am in a way expected to take better care of my fields since you can’t claim a payout if you’re negligent. So that creates an attitude of taking responsibility of our investments,” says Memory.
The agriculture insurance with World Food Programme is helping households reduce vulnerability and protect them against losses. It is also helping to build small holder farmers’ resilience.