Tatenda Mutungira is one of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development’s recent graduates, having completed his master’s degree in Agricultural Economics. We had a chat with him about his experience with his studies, his dissertation, and what he is busy with now.

Q: What was your master’s topic, and can you briefly explain it to me?

A: My topic was ‘An economic viability study of crop revenue insurance for the South African maize market: A statistical copula approach’.

In short, I was looking at the viability of crop revenue insurance (CRI) in South Africa when compared to the struggling yield-based crop insurance product known as multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI). The viability was assessed on two things; the expected loss realised expressed in Rands per ton, and the premium rate realised expressed as a percentage.

Recent research has shown that when compared to MPCI, CRI is more viable and affordable to offer in the absence of government support, premised on an inverse relationship between the yield and prices of crops, that permits for a relatively stable expected revenue, referred to as a “natural hedge”. Indeed, findings from my research agreed with recent studies in two of the three provinces assessed were CRI achieved lower expected losses and premium rates than MPCI policies.

A key part of the research was on the methodology followed in establishing the dependence relationship between white maize yields and prices. Copulas have been established as a superior dependence modelling technique because their approach moves away from the normal model assumption as depicted by the Pearson correlation relied on by insurers. Furthermore, copulas are flexible modelling instruments that permit the use of different statistical distributions in the marginals of the variables which is favourable because evidence exists suggesting that yield distributions are not normally distributed contrary to the insurers modelling approach.

Q: What made you decide to do your master’s initially, and what helped drive you to its completion?

A: It was a no brainer for me on deciding whether to do a master’s degree. I believe that the world is becoming more and more complex, and the job market requires more critical thinkers to solve today’s complex problems and a master’s degree would equip me with necessary tools for this. The sheer determination to achieving my goal is what drove me to completing my master’s and believing that my research would make a meaningful contribution in South Africa’s agriculture/crop insurance space.

Q: Would you say that completing your master’s was worth it? In what way and why?

A: Without a doubt it was worth it to finish the masters. It was not easy. There were lots of ups and downs and when I look back, it seems like I had more downs than anything else which only motivated me to continue down the difficult path to achieving my goal. I like a good challenge and I knew once I completed the degree, it would bring a real sense of personal achievement and personal growth that would allow me to take on other bigger challenges in life. Nothing is easy, and nothing is handed to you so you have to work hard and persevere to achieve your goals.

Q: What was the best part or your favourite part of your study?

A: When my code finally produced the correct dependence relationships, and when my insurance model was now producing results that made economic sense. At that point I knew the end was near.

Q: Is there anything that you wish you had known about masters before you started?

A: Yes, and that is you do not have to read each article from start to finish, just focus on the key points or areas that you need for your own research otherwise you can easily find yourself going down the rabbit hole.

Q: What are you busy with now, or looking forward to doing soon?

A: Currently I am working in the research space as a business and market analyst focusing mainly on the agriculture, food and beverage sectors. I am looking forward to fully committing my efforts in establishing myself as a senior analyst and building my brand as an agricultural economist now that my masters is out of the way.

Q: What word of advice would you give other students?

A: Whatever the task or problem, just keep plugging at it! The right effort in the right places produces great results!