Gov’t allocates P17B for crop insurance—DAR
MANILA, Philippines—More than 200,000 farmers under the agrarian reform program will stand to benefit from some P17 billion worth of insurance protection for their crops in the next two planting seasons, officials said on Tuesday.
The Department of Agrarian Reform announced that the government had allocated some P1 billion to subsidize the premiums for the agricultural insurance coverage of at least 224,036 agrarian-reform beneficiaries nationwide.
On the other hand, the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., will put up the insurance cover worth some P17.07 billion, the officials said.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and Agrarian Reform Undersecretary Jerry Pacturan signed the memorandum of agreement between the two agencies at the DA Central Office in Quezon City.
“The program aims to protect agrarian reform beneficiaries against losses due to pest and disease infestations, natural calamities and extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change,” Pacturan said in a statement.
“This is consistent with the integrated support services interventions provided by the national government to agrarian reform beneficiaries,” Alcala added.
Of the premium subsidy worth P1 billion, P533.78 million will be set aside for rice farmers, P385.82 million for corn farmers, and P79.09 million for high value crop farmers, and P1.31 million for livestock.
The premium cost for the individual farmer’s “life and limb” coverage amounting to P5.43 million will come from the interest income of the DAR’s Government Premium Subsidy Fund.
Of the P17 billion worth of insurance protection, some P4.94 billion will be reserved for rice, P2 billion for corn, P2.35 billion for commercial crops, P13 million for livestock, and some P7.77 billion for the individual farmer’s life and limb.
Under the program, covered farmers may receive payments for damages ranging from P28,000 to P52,000 for various types of rice, depending on the extent of damage and cost of farm investment, and up to P50,000 for loss of life and limb.
On the other hand, there are varying indemnity figures for commercial crops and animals as there are many types of crops and animals involved, officials said.
Under the program, the DAR is tasked to identify qualified beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, provide technical support to facilitate credit access, enhance agricultural production, and submit indemnity claims to DA-PCIC through its regional offices, among others.
The PCIC, on the other hand, is responsible for providing the agricultural insurance cover using the P1-billion subsidy solely for premium payment of coverage of eligible farmers endorsed by the DAR.
Both the DAR and the DA shall shoulder their respective administrative and operational expenses to ensure the smooth implementation of the program, officials said.
