Malawi should subsidise crop insurance
A Lilongwe-based renowned insurance practitioner, Macdonald Liwonde Chibwe, has urged government to subsidise crop insurance to protect more farmers from disasters.
Speaking in an interview on Friday, Chibwe said a lot of farmers in the country suffer losses due to lack of insurance of their crops and livestock.
He said: “Insurance services in the country are expensive, especially for subsistence farmers in the village. These farmers cannot manage insurance services, therefore, government should come in to assist them by subsidising the services.
“We should commend government for Farm Input Subsidy Programme, but this programme can be fully beneficial to the country if farmers insure their crops.”
Chibwe, who is the manager of Charter Insurance Company Limited for the Centre and North, said if government cannot subsidise the crop and livestock insurance, then it should facilitate formation of farmers’ clubs.
“With farmers’ clubs, farmers can pool their resources together and be able to insure their crops and livestock,” he said.
What form of help? How will this benefit farmers?
Mr Chibwe just wants to exploit unsuspecting poor farmers. If farmers can not insure their own health let alone their lives, how in heaven can they afford to insure their crops. Malawi is not the West where farming is a business. Remember as long as we still cultivate with a hand hoe, whether you like it or not we will remain at a subsistence level of production. Farmers do not need to insure their crops at this stage. Come up with some other scheme to take advantage of them.