INSURANCE experts and their counterparts in the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors have called for a fresh national push to convince small scale producers in the three sectors to have insurance covers.
This move, they said, will help to tone down unforeseen risks as the world grapples with startling losses and destruction associated with climate change.
The Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania (Sagcot) Mbarali Cluster Manager, Ms Tullah Mlonge, said here that in a continuing drive to educate small scale producers on the need to ensure their produce, the experts made most of the Nane Nane Trade Fair here to hammer the point home to visitors of the pavilions in the Sagcot Square.
“The question of protecting the sweat of small producers is very important. We have made most of the Nane Nane Trade Fair here to educate, especially small producers, on the need to ensure their produce.
This year we (in the Sagcot) together with our colleagues from the National Insurance Corporation (NIC) and the Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise (Acre) appealed to producers in the agriculture, livestock and fisheries to insure their produce and mitigate the risks and loses they are currently facing, especially small scale farmers,” she explained.
Mbarali Cluster serves farmers in Mbeya and Songwe Regions.
Ms Mlonge said efforts of Sagcot and its partners seek to increase productivity in agriculture, livestock and fisheries in order to improve the livelihoods of producers.
“So the question of insurance is equally important in improving the livelihoods of producers and protecting them from undue loses,” she explained
She said this year; at least 30 Sagcot partners had pavilions in the Sagcot Square, a move that attracted thousands of visitors.
“It was great. We were satisfied with the turn out. We think people appreciated our efforts and those of the government in maintaining this annual event,” she said.
She praised the work and efforts of the Tamtam Company in popularising the use of apple seed to farmers in the Southern Highlands Regions, especially in Makete District, Njombe Region.
“The latest figures we have now show that 3,000 active farmers are growing apples because they are using appropriate apple seed from Tamtam Company. If these farmers will succeed, we hope they will, Tanzania will reduce drastically apple imports,” she assured.
Companies that exhibited the products and services in the Sagcot Square include Guavay, Tamtam, TOAM, Afrifarm, Silverlands, Akm Glitter, SeedCO, and YARA Tanzania.