Takāful Taʿāwuni Agro: Strengthening Agricultural Resilience Through Inclusive And Sustainable Protection Among Paddy Farmers In Malaysia

Findings — The findings indicate that the paddy farmers have the intention to participate and contribute to agricultural takāful that predominantly influenced their attitudes and perceived behavioural control. However, affordability, awareness, and Sharīʿah compliance issues remain barriers for their participation. Financial support through zakat and waqf has the potential to enhance acceptance, while pricing remains a critical determinant for uptake. Qualitative evidence further highlights the need for a model that extends beyond risk protection to reflect ethical, inclusive, and sustainability principles.
Originality/Value — This study contributes novel insights through the proposed Takāful Taʿāwuni Agro framework, which integrates takāful with zakat and waqf under a unified model of taʿāwun (mutual cooperation). Taʿāwun is positioned here as a broader guiding value for ISF, enabling collective responsibility, inclusivity, and community resilience.
Research Limitations/Implications — This study is limited by its cross-sectional design and focus on selected granary regions in Malaysia. Future research should apply long-term and
pilot-based approaches to empirically test the operationalisation and performance of integrated takāful–ISF models across different agricultural and country contexts.
Practical Implications — The proposed Takāful Taʿāwuni Agro framework brings the spirit of taʿāwun into practice by aligning agricultural takāful with the Value-Based Intermediation Takaful (VBIT) agenda to provide a Sharīʿah-compliant and inclusive risk-sharing solution for vulnerable farmers. The model demonstrates how taʿāwun and VBIT can be applied beyond agriculture to strengthen financial resilience and social protection across other vulnerable sectors of the economy.