Land Bank seeks new crop of black insurance assessors
The Land Bank Insurance Company wants to grow a crop of young black farmers into fully fledged agriculture and crop insurance assessors that transform the profession.
MD Pascal Siphugu said the company’s first agriculture insurance assessor training programme has been a triumph, and the second one begins in June.
“Most of the assessors who manage our processes are previously advantaged, and we say we must make a contribution to train black farmers to help Land Bank and help the industry create black assessors of crop damage.”
He said assessors were a critical part of the sector, as they help determine how much compensation should be paid in insurance claims against events like hail and frost.
“The black assessors’ programme is our contribution to an inclusive agriculture sector.
“It supports transformation in agriculture and brings the previously disadvantaged into the mainstream.”
Black assessors could start earning a portion of the amounts they assessed as soon as they completed the programme.
“We are calling on black farmers, particularly young black farmers and women in agriculture, to go through an induction programme.”
They can expect a programme with three components.
“One is classroom training, where they are introduced to the art and science of assessment.
“There will also be field-based work, where they go out with agricultural insurers and assessors to get experience.
“Once the academic and practical part has been completed, they will be ready to work on their own.”
He said their crop insurance training programme was an opportunity to transform agriculture by formalising development agriculture, which took place mostly in rural areas.
Agricultural business economist Wandile Sihlobo said: “Given that black farmers make up, on average, about 10% of the commercial produce, it is plausible that transformation figures in [subsectors of the agriculture sector] are also fairly low.”
FNB Commercial senior agriculture economist Paul Makube said that, with increasing risks in terms of production, prices and markets, agriculture insurance had become essential for the farming business.
“Building capacity in terms of increasing the pool of expertise will ensure farmers’ decisionmaking is enhanced when it comes to their choosing insurance solutions that meet their requirements.”
The agriculture sector was now under pressure owing to the El Niño-induced midsummer drought, and also as a result of it having had a bad 2023.
Siphugu said the first Land Bank insurance assessors ’ programme from last year had 20 students, 16 of whom had since graduated and were now using their new skills to develop rural agriculture and assist farmers in their communities.