Meredani Ralumu has lived through the challenges of working on a sugarcane farm, having spent 15 years toiling the land with her late father, a member of the Cane Farmers Cooperative Savings and Loans Association (CCSLA).

Back in the day, she witnessed the sacrifices farmers made to keep the land and the crops thriving. She also understood the heartbreak and hardship that followed natural disasters. She saw the devastation on the farms — damaged crops and property — as she helped her father with the rehabilitation work.
She witnessed the gains they made as a family through years of hard work swept away in a matter of hours every time a cyclone crossed their side of the country – Saunaka, Nadi in Western Fiji. Their only safety net to mitigate the damage was financial support from the CCSLA, and lease money. That was before the UN Capital Development Fund’s (UNCDF) parametric micro-insurance product, developed by the Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme (PICAP).

The product has been welcomed by Ms Ralumu, who has continued to work the land after her father’s passing, planting sugarcane and assorted vegetables for her family’s livelihood and sustenance. At 39, the mother of six has developed a good relationship with CCSLA and believes this has boosted her confidence in farming.

Prior to signing up for the parametric microinsurance product, Ms Ralumu and her husband would find ways to ensure their farm was up and running in the aftermath of a natural disaster. She shared how they used their lease money and income from her husband’s work as a tractor driver to get the farm back on track.

It was hard, but it had to be done, or face the prospect of losing the farm. Ms Ralumu knew that they had to make sacrifices, and as a family, they were able to keep their farm in operation. With the timely introduction of the parametric microinsurance product, Ms Ralumu attained a certain level of financial security, which gives her both confidence and peace of mind.

She didn’t have any form of insurance until the product was introduced to her by CCSLA, an implementing partner of PICAP.

“I’m so happy to have signed up for this product,” stated Ralumu. “When disasters occurred, we would work together as a family in the recovery process. My husband is a tractor driver so if there is no farm, there is no job for him: the farm is our livelihood. With this insurance, we know that we have a backup if we are affected by natural disasters.”

Ms Ralumu stated that the educational materials on the microinsurance product allowed her to understand its benefits and the risks. She appreciates the digital payment options through Vodafone Fiji Limited and Digicel’s mobile money product as this would make the processing of payouts faster and convenient for beneficiaries.

She plans on subscribing to the parametric micro-insurance product every year but believes that greater product awareness should be continuously rolled out to the various communities. Her confidence in the product means that she has also taken it upon herself to spread the word to family, friends and colleagues to encourage investment in insurance products for a more secure future.
As a suggestion, she raised the option of expanding the scheme to cover family members as well as property.

“We would like to see insurance cover for flooding or damage to property and not just farms,” stated Ms Ralumu. “I have a farmhouse and when it’s the cyclone season, I’m always worried that the corrugated iron shed will be blown away or damaged.

“I keep my farming tools there so we are looking at upgrading it to a concrete structure to withstand strong wind and flooding. We have a gate and a fence that my husband built, so that’s also something that we always try to secure during natural disasters.”

Financial assistance for farming materials and seedlings would be a big help, according to Ms Ralumu. These expenses, alongside fuel subsidies would lift a significant financial burden off farmers affected by cyclone damage. She noted that machinery should be insured as well. “These are big expenses for small-scale farmers,” states Ms Ralumu.

As a mother of six, Ms Ralumu is encouraging other women and those from marginalised communities to go into farming and take out insurance cover.
“We should not just depend on men. What if your husband dies? Who would have to take over the farms? This is why I am also encouraging the women to get into farming with insurance cover against natural disasters,” Ms Ralumu said.