The Mamda (Moroccan Agricultural Mutual Insurance) recently launched in Agadir the compensation operation for farmers affected during the 2011/2012 season who had taken out multi-risk climate insurance. Thus, about twenty affected farmers received their cheques for the first instalment. The other affected farmers will also receive their compensation at the local Mamda agencies.

This operation is highly symbolic, as it announces a new era in the agricultural field. Indeed, the latter, never being safe from climatic hazards, has suffered in the past from major material damage due to drought, frost, hail, violent winds, sandstorms, excess water, …

To remedy this situation, which is detrimental to the agricultural sector, an agreement relating to multi-risk climate insurance was signed in August 2011 between the State, represented by the Ministers of Economy and Finance and of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries, and the Mamda, represented by the Chairman of its Management Board. The purpose of this agreement is to better protect farmers against risks linked to climatic hazards.

While they did not benefit from any guarantee against drought in eighteen provinces for cereal crops alone, multi-risk insurance now provides them with comprehensive coverage concerning cereal crops (soft wheat, durum wheat, maize and barley) and legumes (broad beans, chickpeas, beans, lentils, peas) throughout the national territory, and also covers the following climatic risks: drought, excess water, hail, frost, violent winds, sandstorms.

This insurance targets an agricultural area of 300,000 hectares from the 2011/2012 season, with a forecast objective of 1,000,000 hectares by 2015. Subscriptions for this first season exceeded the target of 300,000 hectares, with more than 20,000 insured farmers, the crops concerned being mainly cereals.

And in order to make this product accessible to all farmers, multi-risk climate insurance benefits from a State premium subsidy of between 53% and 90%, depending on the level of guarantee chosen. Thus, the small farmer will be able to benefit from a guaranteed capital of up to 1,450 dirhams for a contribution of 26 DH/ha. For higher levels of guarantee, the contribution amounts are between 183 and 368 DH/ha. Upon receipt of the declaration of loss, and in accordance with the partnership agreement signed in August 2011 between the State and the Mamda for the marketing of multi-risk climate insurance, experts specialising in agricultural insurance were mandated by the Mamda to assess the insured plots in the affected communes. A whole logistics system was deployed for the realisation of this operation.

The compensation process has already begun for the Souss-Massa-Drâa and Guelmim-Smara regions where the cheques were handed over to the farmers in the Mamda agencies in the Souss.

The result of the grouping of regional funds that existed as early as 1920, the Mamda, which was created in 1963, is the first agricultural mutual insurance company in Morocco. It now has six regional groups, and has been operating in the sector for more than forty years to secure the Kingdom's farmers.