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Bank takes climate risk insurance to farmers

Farmers in Malawi are counting down to another rainy season, but uncertainties still linger despite weather forecasts pointing to above-normal rains.

With the fields cleared and ridged, farmers fear another season of tricky rainfall.

Delegates discuss the highs and lows of climate risk insurance in Blantyre

“We can’t tell when the first rains will fall and whether it’s the right time to plant,” says Amin Mwale, a farmer in Chiradzulu District. “If you plant early, crops dry up within weeks. If you plant late, they wilt and die.”

Last growing season, he was among millions of farmers in the Southern Region where crops were scorched by drought caused by the El Nino weather pattern.

The prolonged dry spells struck when maize was tasselling, leaving over 5.7 million Malawians requiring food aid.

Farmers who rely on rain-fed agriculture face chronic hunger amid climate change.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group states that with nearly 95 percent of agriculture relying on rains, climate change threatens fragile economies like Malawi.

Climate scientists warn that Sub-Saharan Africa is warming 1.5 times faster than the global average, making climate-related disasters more frequent and devastating for millions.

AfDB Group says climate and disaster risk financing is a strategic tool that transfers the risk and stimulates investment in resilience and adaptation measures.

AfDB country manager Macmillan Anyanwu says climate risk insurance is particularly important for countries hit hard by climate-related disasters.

“Malawi is one of the countries where the impact of these climate-related disasters is severe,” he says. “This is becoming a regular occurrence on the continent which needs to be addressed and climate and disaster risk financing is one of the important tools needed.”

AfDB rolled out the Africa Disaster Risk Financing (Adrifi) Programme in 2018 to strengthen the resilience and response to climate shocks.

The bank partnered with the African Risk Capacity Group to safeguard the continent’s development by cushioning countries most at risk of disasters worsened by climate change.

Previously, Malawi received a payout worth $16 million from the AfDB climate financing mechanism. The bank has committed $23 million in the next insurance pay-out, according to Anyanwu,

He says this disbursement will cover drought, floods and other climate-related disasters.

“We are moving beyond providing sovereign risk insurance. We are also going into community-level and individual-level arrangements where farmers would also have insurance so that when disasters hit, we are not only going to make pay-outs to the government but also at community and household levels,” says Anyanwu.

He was speaking at a three-day high-level climate disaster risk financing forum held in Blantyre.
During the talks, delegates discussed the highs and lows of the continent’s fast-evolving climate insurance landscape.

According to AfDB, the evolution opens new opportunities for African countries and communities to better manage climate risks.

“Insurance solutions, particularly when designed to protect and stimulate investment in high-risk sectors such as agriculture, can be instrumental in promoting sustainable development and poverty reduction,” reads the meeting’s concept note.

In their minds, policymakers see such investments as providing the necessary risk assurance to unlock access to finance, fueling the growth of small and medium enterprises and supporting climate-smart agriculture.

“This, in turn, contributes to food security, income generation and economic stability,” says Anyanwu.

Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs Principal Secretary responsible for administration Hetherwick Njati says climate change calls for a swift shift from traditional approaches to addressing climate change are no longer sufficient.

To him, climate disaster risk financing and insurance exemplify innovative and sustainable solutions needed to lessen the harsh impacts of climate change.

“Malawi has successful experience of implementing climate disaster risk financing insurance interventions, including Adrifi and risk transfer tools. We are eager to learn from others on some of the best practices, including how they are integrating such financing mechanisms into their development frameworks,” Njati says.

He reckons the country has embraced innovative approaches, including affordable insurance products which help low-income people recover from financial losses and meso insurance which cushions businesses and financial institutions from risks such as volatility in agricultural goods, loans and services.

“Our collective task is to ensure that these tools reach the communities most in need, from smallholder farmers who depend on rain-fed agriculture to the urban poor exposed to climate risks,” he says.

Njati calls for inclusive systems that support and strengthen the financial resilience of vulnerable groups and ultimately promote sustainable development.

AfDB has pumped in over $100 million in 16 countries, including Malawi.

This investment covers over five million people against the risks of severe droughts and cyclones.

The bank is developing the Africa Climate Risk Insurance Facility for Adaptation, which aims to raise $1 billion in concessional, high-risk capital and grants to stimulate the development and uptake of targeted climate insurers.n

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