The ManicaPost
Blessing Rwizi Post Correspondent
ZIMBABWE Farmers’ Union has partnered with Econet to offer funeral cover and other farming related services to farmers as individuals or groups.
The initiative which has seen a huge following over the past two years is dubbed Ecofarmer, with each policy holder paying $1 each month, while their dependents pay 50 cents.
So far 100 groups have been formed with over 5 000 policy holders in all the seven districts of Manicaland.
Claims were successfully paid to over 15 members who passed on since the programme was launched up to the end of the 2016 farming season.
Some of the groups who received funeral cover after their members passed on are Arise and Shine, Hilltop, Dambamba and Kubatana in Mutasa District and Makomo and Gundemukunde in Buhera.
The programme is open to all and contributions are paid through Ecocash wallets or group merchant accounts.
All the policy holders automatically become ZFU members and enjoy all the benefits offered by ZFU.
Each farmer is expected to approach the ZFU Ecofarmer Combo Agent based in their respective ward/village to register and get their identity details as well as his/her dependants.
Among the benefits that each farmer gets is an Ecosure Funeral Cover cash pay-out of $500 or funeral services in the event of a member passing on. All claims are processed at the nearest Econet shop within 24 hours.
Other benefits of this programme are crop weather index insurance cover for maize, regular maize and livestock farming tips on the member’s phone, discounts on farming inputs from selected agro-dealer shops.
The ZFU-Ecofarmer Combo also partners local private sector retailers to provide discounts for farmers registered for this service.
ZFU Manicaland provincial manager, Mr Daniel Mungazi, said: “The programme is receiving an overwhelming response from the farming community due to its uniqueness on farming tips, weather index insurance, farming inputs discounts, ZFU services and the groups/burial society concept which is easier to manage by low income earners.
“As ZFU, we have also partnered with Mercy Corps, an organisation that offers expertise in Information Communication Technology in agriculture and it is providing technical and financial support to this ZFU Financial Inclusion Strategy Maiden Product,” said Mr Mungazi.
