Changing Lives
vritti
March 2020
13
Mobile-Money Enabled Insurance Services
The crop-insurance services, with affordable
premiums and payments processed by
mobile money, are helping small-holder farmers
to cope with losses due to excess rainfall and
drought and re-plant in next season. Moreover,
free or low premium hospitalization and funeral
covers based on mobile or mobile money
usage are helping low-income, vulnerable
population to overcome financial shocks due
natural calamities.
EcoFarmer Weather Indexed
Insurance – EcoCash, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s digital farming platform EcoFarmer
offers weather indexed insurance service to
farmers in the country. The service provides
cover for potential loss to crop due to excessive
rainfall or too many dry days. By paying a
premium of 10%, farmers can insure their maize
production from a minimum of $25 up to $625
per season. The service is popular with
smallholder farmers as they need to pay as little
as $2.5 to get a cover for $25. The premium can
be paid through EcoCash, Zimbabwe’s largest
mobile money service, used by 80 per cent of the
country’s adult population. In case of crop
failure, the claims are also refunded through
EcoCash. This service provides assurance
and peace of mind to farmers that they can go
back to farming in the next season even in case
of crop failure. Over 1.1 million farmers use
EcoFarmer services. Smallholder farmers are
also using EcoCash to get timely paid for their
produce from buyers in distant locations. Timely
payment provides adequate money for farmers
to buy seeds and other material for next sowing
season and increase their production.