Malawi govt contracts Kenya’s firm Pula to insure AIP beneficiary farmers
The Malawi government has contracted a Kenya-based insurance firm, Pula Advisors, to insure 400, 000 farmers who have been earmarked to benefit from the 2020/21 Affordable Input Programme (AIP).
President Lazarus Chakwera is set to launch the programme at Pirimiti Boys Primary Ground in Zomba this Saturday .
According to a company profile submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture in Lilongwe, Pula is an agricultural insurance and technology company that designs and delivers innovative agricultural insurance and digital products to help smallholder farmers endure climate risks, improve their farming practices, and bolster their incomes over time.
The company is currently working in 11 countries, including Malawi, where it is providing agricultural insurance designed to build resilience among smallholder farmers.
One of the company’s Commercial Manager for Africa, Cedrick Todwell, said in an interview with Nyasa Times in Lilongwe on Thursday that the company has managed to cover 3.5 million farmers in the 11 countries.
“We do realize that smallholder farmers in Africa are basically like gamblers. They hope for the best, but the opposite happens. And to address this problem, we have developed a product called Early Yields Insurance Index, which insures the farmer against the expected yield. What was famous in Africa has been the weather index. But I am sure how the weather index messed up Malawian farmers because when the disaster hit, the farmers were not compensated despite paying a lot of money,” said Todwell.
“But Early Yields Insurance Index is a comprehensive cover against weather, pests and diseases. So, if the farmer is affected by one of the above, the insurance is able to compensate. We are happy that this year, the new government has endorsed this product and the administration has allowed us to pilot this product by insuring 400, 000 farmers against any yield catastrophe,” he added.
Already, the company is providing insurance to 193,000, according to Todwell.
He also disclosed that his company is discussing with Malawi’s leading commercial banks so that they create loan portfolios targeting smallholder farmers.
Additional information from the internet indicates that Pula Advisors is radically restructuring the landscape of agricultural insurance to help insure the previously unbanked, uninsured and untapped market of the world’s 500 million small farmers.
Located in Nairobi, Kenya, Pula provides farmers with insurance bundled with inputs (such as seeds and fertilizer) and farmer advisory services to help increase their yields and boost (and protect) their income.
The insurance is free, so farmers don’t have to make any sacrifices to protect their hard work.
Agricultural input companies pay the premium to differentiate their product from their competitors’ products, and the insurance is underwritten by third-party insurers.
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Kenyan firms remind me of the millions of dollars Malawi lost for installation of radar system at KIA. Ndangodutsamo.
It supposed to be area yield insurance index and NOT Early yield insurance index. It is called area index because payment is triggered if the average yield in a given area falls below pre agreed threshold.