Building sustainable farming enterprises requires shifting from reacting to crises to actively protecting the assets, livestock, and data that keep agricultural businesses bankable.
That was the central message on the final day of the Lunchtime Conversations series, hosted by Food For Mzansi in partnership with Land Bank at Nampo Cape in Bredasdorp.
Industry experts gathered at the Santam Auditorium venue one more time to unpack the topic “Protecting what matters: Assets and livestock for sustainable farming”. The panel explored how climate variability, insurance innovation, and localised data must align to safeguard South African agriculture against growing uncertainties.
Moving beyond reactive insurance
Opening the discussion, Andries Mahlase, executive operations manager at Land Bank Insurance, emphasised that because agriculture is an open-air industry, farmers and production systems remain continuously exposed to the variability of weather, temperature, and rainfall.
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Reflecting on recent production cycles, Mahlase pointed out that high overall output can mask severe operational strains on individual farms. While South Africa achieved a 70-million-tonne production scale in a previous season, which appeared positive on a macro level, individual farmers faced severe challenges due to extreme hail events and flooding.
“Embracing new practices and innovative techniques, we recognise that insurance has its roots in protecting farmers and their livelihoods.
“Today, farmers need practical and accessible insurance instruments that can help them manage the risks and uncertainties they face. As Land Bank Insurance, we are committed to developing solutions that respond to these needs. We are prepared for the events and risks that farmers may face,” Mahlase stated.
With severe climate patterns looming over production cycles, Mahlase urged producers to take early, deliberate action to safeguard their businesses.
“What are we doing to make sure that we are prepared for that super El Niño?” he asked. “I think it starts with the ability of the farmers embracing technology, embracing new practices and techniques, and that farmers should regard insurance as a serious investment.”
Understanding climate vulnerability
Underpinning the need for specialised protection is the reality of rapid climate shifts. Dr Tara Southey, CEO and founder of TerraClim, highlighted that South Africa’s primary climate change reality is severe seasonal variability, where no two seasons behave the same.
“We are sitting in a scenario where it’s getting hotter, and it’s getting drier,” Southey explained. “We are seeing a scenario of increased seasonal events, increased hours of above 35 degrees, and more hours below seven degrees.”
Southey cautioned against relying on historical annual averages when evaluating risk. Citing the Western Cape as an example, she noted that while the region received very little rainfall in July, heavy rainfall earlier in May meant the annual winter average appeared normal.
To make data genuinely useful on the farm, she urged the industry to slice climate data into hourly resolutions to quantify how often extreme events occur in specific areas.
“Moving away from the means, moving away from the averages… it’s really important in the context of climate change to start quantifying extreme events,” Southey added.
“All of these hourly resolutions affect plant physiology, affect pest and disease movement, and understanding that across your whole farm – not just using one weather station – is key to understanding your climate vulnerability.”
Closing the broker gap to lower operational anxiety
From a risk management and brokerage perspective, Sinethemba Zweni, insurance broker representative from Venshaw Insurance Administrators, noted that unpredictable climate patterns create direct financial anxiety for producers by causing operational costs to fluctuate.
“I think generally farmers are very concerned about climate change; it’s unpredictable. When an incident happens, farmers want to know how quickly the insurer can actually sort the matter out. I think those are the main concerns that farmers have at this point,” Zweni said.
While farmers generally recognise the necessity of cover, Zweni highlighted a critical area for improvement across the insurance value chain: closer relationship-building between brokers and producers.
“There is a gap to close, which is that our brokers need to be closer to our clients, understand their needs, and understand their risk so that we can give proper advice,” Zweni added.
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