BANKS need to come up with insurance services suitable for mitigating livestock sector risks facing herders all over the country, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Doto Biteko has declared.

Gracing the closing ceremony of a three-day livestock exhibition and Auction 2024 organised by the Tanzania Commercial Cattle Society (TCCS), he also unveiled a livestock insurance policy.

The insurance facility was set up by the NMB Bank and is geared towards mitigating livestock-related risks to protect herders in case of unforeseen disasters, he stated.

Banks need to give more support to the livestock sector, as yet a key pillar of the country’s economy employing several million people directly, and providing indirect opportunities to millions of others, he pointed out.

The cattle population has shot up to 37m in the past few years while the sector’s contribution to the country’s economy is still very low, he affirmed, explaining the situation to prevalence of traditional cattle keeping practices.

Experts at the Livestock and Fisheries ministry need to come up with innovative strategies to enable livestock farmers to switch to modern livestock rearing practices, he urged.

The government has already finalized an agricultural sector master plan that seeks to address several challenges hindering agro-sector sustainable development, he said, commending NMB Bank for its role in agro-sector growth, appealing to other banks to emulate this example.

Lenders need to widen insurance policy scope to benefit more potential beneficiaries, he said, explaining that the new insurance product is part of the bank’s commitment to protect livestock keepers against financial loss from sudden or unexpected risks.

“I’m indeed happy about this new policy. It’s a new concept in the Tanzanian market,” he said, while Alexander Mnyeti, the Livestock and Fisheries deputy minister urged livestock farmers to switch from traditional to modern livestock keeping practices.

The ministry had embarked on a massive livestock keeping sensitization drive across the country but the response is still low, he stated, pointing at the persistence of relying on traditional livestock keeping practices that undermine productivity.

“Gone are the days when cattle keepers travelled long distances in search of pasture,” he said, while Christopher Mwalugenge, agro-sector wholesale head at the NMB Bank, said the new insurance policy covers several types of livestock-related risks, including death and theft.

The bank understands livestock as valuable investments, with livestock keepers needing to be covered for sudden loss as this helps keep keepers and ranch operators work smoothly. “That is why we came up with this new insurance policy at only 20,000/-per annum,” he said.

NMB Bank remains focused on protecting the beneficiary’s investments by providing customized livestock insurance coverage to secure the herd’s future and livestock business as a whole, he added.