- Extreme climatic events have become ever more frequent in Mozambique. In addition to the human victims, they destroy crops, causing hunger in the following months and years
By Aurélio Muianga
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – A new insurance against climate change is being introduced in Mozambique. In an initial phase, it will benefit about 7,000 small producers in Zambézia and Nampula provinces.
The Area Yield Index Insurance (AYII) guarantees that, in the event that agricultural production is lost due to climatic causes such as drought, flood, pests, hail, or storms, “the producers can receive compensation for the amounts lost,” said Elisa Manhique, the commercial director of Pula, one of the AYII insurance companies, in an interview.
Extreme climatic events have become ever more frequent in Mozambique. In addition to the human victims, they destroy crops, causing hunger in the following months and years. Cyclone Idai, which hit Mozambique in March and April 2019, caused economic losses of about USD 773 million. Around 700,000 hectares of agricultural land was destroyed, according to a study published by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
The AYII insurance has a premium of USD 300,000, paid by a programme for resilience to climate change called Feed the Future (FTF) Resina, which is fully financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
In a first phase, the pilot phase, the insurance covers the agricultural season which runs from October 2024 to July 2025 and covers 4,000 farmers in Gurúè district, 1,000 farmers in Namarrói district, in Zambézia, and 2,000 famers in Mogovolas district, in Nampula province.
The beneficiaries were selected by FTF Resina, in coordination with the local governments, through the District Economic Activities Services (SDE). The crops insured are maize and green beans in Gurúè and Namarói, and groundnuts and maize in Mogovolas, since these are regarded as the crops that generate most income for households, and are also those most affected by extreme climatic events.
"The aim is to mitigate shocks linked to climate change, and to stimulate the demand for agricultural insurance, because many producers still do not understand its importance, and don’t even know how it works”, said, in an interview, the Director of the FTF Resina Programme, Nephas Munyeche.
According to Munyeche, the money for the insurance premium is a grant from the Government of the United States of America, to help small scale agricultural producers generate resilience to climate change shocks and also to economic shocks. After the pilot phase of the insurance,which ends in July 2025, it can be expanded to other regions.
“The insurance guarantees that if crops are submerged and during the harvest, between May and June, the producers can be compensted for the amounts lost", said the commercial director of Pula. “For example, if the expected maize yield for a farmer in Gurúè was one tonne, but the producer only harvested 100 kilos, the insurance will pay the producer for the 900 kilos lost”, she explained.
Pula is implementing the agricultural insurance in partnership with the Mozambican Insurance Company (EMOSE), which is controlled by the government. (AM)
