A crop insurance coverage initiative has been launched in Tanzania in a bid to help farmers to mitigate the impact of climate change and further boost the uptake of the services among growers.
According to a market performance report by Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (Tira), agricultural insurance sales were Sh1.3 billion in 2021, equivalent to just 0.17 per cent of all general insurance sales.
In this, three companies which include fertiliser manufacturer Yara Tanzania, Jubilee Insurance and Equity Bank Tanzania have partnered to offer crop insurance coverage and help farmers access the service which is currently virtually uninsured in Tanzania.
According to Winstone Odhiambo, Managing Director at Yara Tanzania, the new initiative would play a key role in making farming in Tanzania more stable and profitable for growers.
“Offering crop insurance in the country is a huge milestone for us as we seek to empower hard-working farmers and secure livelihoods and food security,” said Odhiambo.
Insurance via digital platform
Odhiambo said that farmers would now be able to access insurance coverage through the AfricaConnect digital platform, which is a one-stop solution offering access to funding, high quality fertiliser, extension services and a readily available market for their produce.
Hitherto, the platform which has enrolled about 83,000 farmers, would now incorporate more crops, making them qualify for insurance coverage.
“At Yara Tanzania, we are happy to announce that in addition to rice growers, Africaconnect will in 2023 also enlist maize, coffee, potato and sunflower growers. We urge all eligible farmers to enroll and benefit from the wide variety of services on offer,’ said the director.
Tailor-made solutions
Jubilee Insurance is the latest partner to join the initiative that provides tailor-made solutions aimed at increasing farmers’ productivity.
Other Africaconnect partners are Equity Bank, Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Seed Agency (ASA) and Murzah Wilmar Rice Millers Limited.
Dipankar Acharya, chief executive and director at Jubilee Allianz General Insurance Company said that the firm was pleased to help shield farmers from losses occasioned by natural calamities by offering them crop insurance and better management of the risk exposures they were facing.
“We anticipate that farmers will now go about their activities with greater confidence as a result of this,” said Acharya.
Collateral-free loans to farmers
Equity Bank Tanzania has been issuing loans for farming inputs on a collateral-free basis since the launch of the digital platform.
“We look forward to serving more farmers this year as Yara extends the service to cover more crops,” said Isabela Maganga, managing director at Equity Bank Tanzania.
Agriculture comprises about 30 per cent of Equity Bank Tanzania’s loan portfolio even as Tanzania Tira data shows that drought-related economic losses in the country currently stand at $140 million (about Sh320 billion) annually.
