National Livestock Insurance Index Launched

A herd of cattle free-grazing

To say that 2020 has been one of the most unpredictable years in a long while, would be understatement. The COVID 19 pandemic coupled with increasingly visible effects of climate change has made planning for beyond 2021 slightly harder. This has proven to be true for the agriculture sector. 

While climate change has drastically affected the rainfall patterns as seen in recent farming seasons and enabled the outbreaks of disease and pestilences; the COVID 19 pandemic has disrupted some of the agriculture value chains and hence affected the income of many farmers.

With regard to the changing climate, scientists say that the developing world will be most affected by this growing environmental crisis, with smallholder rural farmers being among those who will be most affected.

The Ministry of Agriculture has undertaken strategies to enhance the adoption of agriculture insurance among smallholder farmers.

Through the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP), the Ministry of Agriculture has compelled FISP beneficiaries

to insure their crops through the Weather Index Insurance. This kind of insurance compensates farmers in the event of crops losses incurred as a result of adverse weather such as droughts or floods.

 This year, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock launched the National Livestock Index Insurance – to enable the same kind of compensation and resilience among smallholder livestock farmers.

During the launch of this new product, Fisheries and Livestock Minister, Prof. Nkandu Luo, explained that that livestock such as cattle provided more than just milk and meat making such livestock an asset to alleviate poverty.

“Every bit of our animals is wealth and this the reason why we are introducing insurance for these animals…This [livestock index insurance] is a way of protecting our animals because due to the weather we have emerging diseases some of which we have not seen before, some of which we have difficulty in controlling,” Prof Luo said.

She added that new and emerging livestock disease required investments in research and new vaccines in order to curb further outbreaks. In the same vein, farmers too needed to invest in the protection of their livestock from such emerging diseases.

“Many of a time we don’t like to hear insurance because we don’t want to spend money but think like this : if you’re going to ensure your animal for a few Kwachas, if your whole kraal gets infected and your animals die, you’ll lose more animals than the money you’re insuring, “ Prof. Luo explained.

Fisheries & Livestock Minister,Prof. Nkandu Luo,

officating at the launch of the National Livestock

Insurnace Index

The Livestock Index Insurance could not have come at a better time as many farmers are still feeling the effects of the recent Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) which compelled a long ban on animal movement and restricted trade.

The Livestock Index which is one of the first of its kind in Zambia, was designed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in collaboration with World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)

Speaking during the launch in Chikankanta district Southern Province, WFP Country Representative, Jennifer Bitonde said that this insurance would enable livestock farmers bounce back from shocks that pose risks to their livestock and their livelihoods.

In a speech read on her behalf by Jayoung Lee, Ms Bitonde disclosed that based on the success the Weather Index insurance, WFP teamed up with IFAD and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society(IRI) to pool their advisors and other stakeholders together to support the government in designing a similar index insurance,”

“Protecting livelihoods of farmers is an important part of WFP strategy in achieving zero hunger in Zambia. We know that smallholder farmers produce up to 80% of the food supply consumed in Zambia. If their livelihoods re not protected, achieving total food security will not be possible. That is why it is important to provide services holistically, together with insurance so that smallholder farmers – and especially women farmers who are the majority producers - can achieve greater production and productivity,” Ms Lee said.

The livestock sub-sector is key in scaling-up income generation and nutrition among rural communities. However, issues such as disease control and access to finance, among other things, remain a stoic challenge to farmers and stakeholders alike in the livestock subsector.

Through the Livestock Index Insurance, it is hoped that the farmers will have relief when unpredictable evets arise and safeguard their investments.