Zimbabwe will buy drought insurance that can pay cash to vulnerable households if the rains fail, and is building its grain stocks to 600,000 tonnes, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has said, as the country prepares for a possible El Niño drought in the 2026/27 farming season.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2027 Pre-Budget Seminar in Bulawayo on Wednesday, Ncube told The Herald: "We are also going to buy some insurance, which we will pay once the drought occurs and then we can distribute that to vulnerable citizens and households as cash transfers and so forth."

He said grain buying was already under way. "We are building our grain stocks to 600,000 metric tons of grain to support our vulnerable citizens because of the drought," he said, according to The Herald, adding: "As I speak we are close to halfway through and we'll keep going."

The Herald also reported Ncube as saying that money is being set aside in this year's and next year's budgets so the government can buy food whenever it is needed.

"Anticipatory, not reactive"

In his presentation to the seminar, reported by Climate Brief, Ncube said: "Our approach is anticipatory, not reactive." He added that a super El Niño "does not automatically mean drought", but that the government was raising money ahead of the shock from its own budget, banks, private contractors and off-takers, farm financing, insurance including sovereign drought insurance, and development partners.

According to Climate Brief, the target is a Strategic Grain Reserve of 600,000 tonnes by October 2027. National cereal production for the 2026/27 season is projected at about 1.6 million tonnes, with a possible shortfall of between 266,881 and 541,881 tonnes depending on the rains. The plan also covers climate-proofing the Pfumvudza/Intwasa input programme, more irrigation, grazing and water for livestock, and stronger early warning systems.

Not the first drought cover

Zimbabwe already has some drought insurance. In his 2026 national budget, Ncube said the country ratified the African Risk Capacity (ARC) treaty in March 2025 and took out a 2025/26 ARC sovereign drought policy worth US$2.8 million, with a maximum payout of US$14.9 million, Insurance24 reported. The premium was subsidised by the Swiss Development Corporation and the African Development Bank. Ncube did not say on Wednesday how large the new cover would be or who would provide it.

In September, The Herald reported that the national reserve held about 256,790 tonnes, citing a weekly update from the Agricultural Rural Development Advisory Services.

Why it matters

The 600,000-tonne figure is not new. In July, Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka told Parliament that the target drew on lessons from the 2023-24 El Niño drought, when the government mobilised 328,000 tonnes of grain to help 6.5 million people who did not have enough food, CITE reported. He also warned that 2.5 million of the country's 5.7 million cattle could be at risk in a severe drought.

What is new is the promise of insurance-funded cash transfers to households. For families at home, and for relatives abroad who help them, the details will matter: how much cover is bought, what triggers a payout, and who qualifies. Ncube has not yet given those details. He presents the 2027 national budget to Parliament on 19 November.

Reporting by The Herald, Climate Brief, Insurance24 and CITE, rewritten by the Zimbo Grapevine News Desk.

Sources: The Herald (Nqobile Bhebhe), 29 Oct 2026: https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/government-to-arrange-drought-insurance-and-build-600-000-tonne-grain-reserve-to-protect-vulnerable-households/ · Climate Brief, 28 Oct 2026: https://climatebrief.co.zw/2026/10/28/zimbabwe-moves-to-anticipatory-strategy-amid-el-nino-threat/ · Insurance24, 10 Dec 2025: https://insurance24.co.zw/zimbabwe-buys-us2-8m-drought-cover-adopts-new-climate-risk-strategy/ · The Herald via Zimbabwe Situation, 2 Sep 2026: https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/news/government-targets-600-000-tonne-strategic-grain-reserve/ · CITE, 23 Jul 2026: https://cite.org.zw/zimbabwe-prepares-for-possible-super-el-nino/

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