Santam gives N$100 000 to fight the locust infestation

Since mid-December 2021, the agriculture ministry has been battling a swarm of locusts that descended on Namibia.

Since then, the locusts have destroyed over 719 000 hectares of grazing land and 1 207 hectares of crop fields in 10 of Namibia’s 14 regions, with the //Kharas region being the worst affected.

For Santam, this devastation to land and communities urged them to look for ways they could assist those impacted by the outbreak – and on 22 April 2022, the company donated N$100 000 to Drought Relief Namibia.

This donation will be used for the purchase of fuel for vehicles used by the sprayers, and it will also contribute to the salaries of those doing the spraying.

Santam CEO Franco Feris said: “This donation is an extension of Santam as a citizen of Namibia. We do not view the farmers affected by this outbreak as just our policyholders, they are a part of our Santam Namibia family. This is us playing our part, as the private sector, giving back to the communities in which we operate, playing and alleviating the impact of disasters in our societies. We are Namibian for Namibians, standing together with the farming community”. Speaking on behalf of Drought Relief Namibia, Henriette le Grange said: “We are there for every farmer no matter the challenges they face, and this is why we are helping with the fight against the locust infestation. This is a devastating blow to the farming community, especially farmers who received the first good rains since 2016. For us to stand a good chance of winning against the infestation, we have to spray the locusts from the top – not on the ground – and at night when they are resting. The cost for such an exercise is in the region of N$552 000. This donation from Santam brings us closer to our goal of spraying 2500 hectares in the south of Namibia. We appreciate the assistance, and it will go a long way towards helping the farmers”.

“Apart from the donation, we have assembled a team on the ground in the affected areas to ensure we assess the damage and are able to speedily deal with claims from our clients. We intend to ensure that in their hour of need, we live up to our brand promise of providing insurance that is good and proper,” Feris concluded.