Old Mutual Zimbabwe Chief executive officer, Jonas Mushosho

ZIMBABWE’S largest integrated financial services group, Old Mutual has pioneered a pilot drought insurance product for smallholder farmers in partnership with Blue Marble Micro Insurance.
Blue Marble is owned by eight international insurance giants with Old Mutual Group being the partner in Africa.
Speaking at the launch last Friday, Old Mutual Zimbabwe group chief executive officer,Jonas Mushosho said smallholder farmers played a significant role in providing food security for the country.
“Agriculture oils the wheels of industry and commerce, as well as providing food security for millions of people in Zimbabwe and the southern African region. It is also known that Zimbabwe has an agro-based economy with small-scale farmers playing a significant role and it is these farmers that will help Zimbabwe reclaim its position as the breadbasket of the Southern African Development Community,” he said.
According to Mushosho, the micro insurance product provides insurance against seasonal droughts. The product offers protection through farmer’s largest investment that is inputs such as seed and fertiliser.
Other services offered through the product include customer experience through mobile phones and valuable farming education based on climate data to inform planting decisions.
Mushosho said to date over 300 farmers had signed up to the product which is targeting farmers using one or two hectares of their land primarily to grow maize and soyabeans.
Old Mutual Zimbabwe general manager, Donald Mute said the insurance giant had partnered several farming institutions that deal with smallholder farmers. These include Northern Farming, which operates in Mashonaland East and Central areas proving farming assistance through loans and inputs to smallholder and commercial farmers.
“The group believes that financial inclusion does not only mean access to finance or capital, but also embraces enabling marginalised communities to trade their farm produce and wares sustainably,” Mute said. He added that the micro insurance product is also part of the group’s financial inclusion strategy.
The product is expected to be pioneered worldwide with Peru and Colombia being the next targets for next year.