The Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Hussein Bashe, has said that Crop Insurance will help farmers overcome risks before and after harvesting their crops to produce more productively and increase their income.

He said this at a meeting to discuss the Special Tobacco Insurance Plan with stakeholders, Cooperative Societies in the Tabora region and Tobacco experts, on January 24, 2025 in Dodoma.

Minister Bashe said that farmers incur losses due to various types of risks such as drought, hailstorms, floods, crop diseases. Therefore, insurance will help farmers to farm productively and produce more crops.

He has called on experts to discuss in depth and make solid recommendations and come up with a Tobacco Crop Insurance Plan that can be used for other crops in the future.

He added that it is important for Buyers and other stakeholders to be involved in order to obtain Insurance that will meet the needs of Farmers.

In addition, he has warned some farmers who are smuggling tobacco to stop doing so, as it undermines efforts to develop the financial chain, especially when deductions for farmers' loans are required to be made by the farmer selling tobacco elsewhere, contrary to the procedure.

Participants in the session included District Heads of Tabora Region, Cooperative Societies, Insurance Companies, Banks, Tobacco Buyers and the Tobacco Board.