Poor access to agricultural credit, limited access to weather and climate information and lack of ready markets and market information have been rated among challenges affecting penetration of crop insurance among smallholder farmers in the country.
This came out during the Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) annual conference held in Mangochi District last week.
Presenting a study that focused on barriers to crop insurance adoption among smallholder farmers in Malawi, Director of Planning in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change Hamilton Kamwana said lack of access to productive farm inputs, including fertilisers, and high illiteracy levels remain some of the barriers.
He said farmers consider crop diversification as the top most mitigating strategy against effects of climate change.
“There is a need for the government to introduce a programme through agricultural extension services to sensitise farmers to issues of crop insurance, enhancement of financial literacy,” Kamwana said.
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He also said the Fertiliser Association of Malawi should ensure that farm inputs are available on time at selling points.
Economist Winfold Masanjala emphasised the need to focus on climate-proofing of the economy and infrastructure, among other things.
“Malawi faces these challenges periodically, for example, drought after every 10 years. Therefore, it is important to understand the mindset of Malawians and enhance mindset change efforts for the people to understand the concept of insurance,” Masanjala said.
