ZEP-RE Statement on De-risking Pastoralists Using Drought Insurance Cover

So, in terms of this project, we offer what Madam Nora has spoken to you about—called Component One. Basically, this is about de-risking the pastoralists using drought insurance cover. Essentially, this means that when there is drought, we’ll give you some money to enable you to buy fodder before the animals become weak, lose weight, or die. That’s the intervention under that component.

But in addition to that, what we are doing for our beneficiaries is enabling them to open bank accounts. This is to ensure that when the beneficiaries of Component Two—especially the ones who are playing the market access role—pay them for their animals, they can bank or keep the money in the bank account. This way, at an appropriate time, they can buy new breeds or restock.

The only way we will succeed in Component One is when you, the beneficiaries, are ready to de-risk our farmers—when you are willing to buy our animals at a fair price so that the pastoralists can feel they are in a valuable business. Fair trade. I am not a trade expert, but we want fair trade.

When you do that, our farmers will afford to buy insurance. The insurance is actually not the first thing. The first thing is fodder. The first thing is market access. The first thing is breed. The first thing is transport. The first thing is animal health. And then, we are ready to give insurance to de-risk.