A consortium of five insurance companies has paid out more than 800 million kwacha crop insurance cover, to over 500 thousand farmers, under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).
Speaking in Lusaka at the 2023 to 2024 FISP payout launch, Minister of Agriculture Mtolo Phiri commended the insurance companies, stating that the payout will assist farmers from the devastating impacts of the droughts.
The Minister indicated that due to the droughts, approximately one million hectares of arable land in 116 districts was negatively affected, during the last farming season. 
He stated that the reason that the ministry took a strategic decision to introduce crop insurance as a risk transfer tool on FISP, and also protect farmers in the face of increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.
Mr Phiri said that the payout will therefore give farmers an opportunity to reinvest in their livelihoods.”
“This not only marks a milestone in our commitment to supporting farmers, but also symbolizes our collective resolve to build a resilient agriculture sector in Zambia through a progressive partnership amongst government, the private sector and cooperating partners,” Mr Phiri said.
