ELLEN MLAMBO
MIRROR REPORTER

MASVINGO – Livestock Research Director, Andrew Chamisa has advised farmers to insure their cattle against drought.
Speaking in an interview with The Mirror at Makoholi Research Institute recently, Chamisa said insurance was important particularly when the country is facing a debilitating drought like the current one.
Insurance enables farmers to restock at the end of the drought, said Chamisa. He urged farmers to be proactive in making decisions to save their animals.
He also urged farmers to make use of local resources like stover and prepare feed for their animals and for those with water, planting pastures for feed will be critical.
Chamisa said farmers should destock nonproductive cattle especially the old and non-breeding whilst they are still in condition so that they are able to salvage value and buy feed to save the remaining animal.
Old Mutual Insurance Company Agronomist Brian Nyasha Nyamande said the general uptake of livestock insurance has been low for some years now as farmers say it’s expensive.
Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) Public Relations Manager Lloyd Gumbo said Livestock is exposed to various risks such as disease outbreaks, natural disasters, or theft and to manage these risks, farmers should insure their livestock so that they do not lose out.
“The uptake of agricultural insurance is generally low. We are implementing various initiatives to increase the uptake of agricultural insurance including livestock insurance. Some of the initiatives include development of a regulatory framework for agricultural index insurance with the intention of facilitating access to agricultural insurance by smallholder farmers. We are also implementing consumer awareness initiatives to educate smallholder farmers about the importance of agricultural insurance in mitigating risks,” said Gumbo.
He added that there has been an increase in the uptake of agricultural insurance, particularly for the 2023/2024 agricultural season rising to at least 7% from an average of 3% over the years.