JV Ejercito eyes insurance program to protect farmers, crops from natural disasters
October 30, 2022
To protect small farmers and their crops from
the impact of natural disasters, Senator Joseph Victor “JV” is proposing to
automatically place all planters with eight hectares of farmland and below
under the government’s crop insurance program.
Ejercito said Senate Bill No. 390 seeks to
expand the national government’s current crop insurance program and improve
food security in the country amidst its vulnerability to natural disasters and
other crises.
“The pandemic and the natural disasters that
hit the country not only affected consumption but more so the production of
adequate food. The country’s vulnerability to disasters and its disastrous
effect on agricultural productivity call for a more permanent and long term
solution that will ensure that the agricultural sector, especially the small
farmers, are protected and given support to sustain and protect their
production,” reads the explanatory note.
“Needless to say, crop insurance is imperative
for a country like the Philippines, where farmers are the poorest among the
various sectors of the society,” it added.
So far, the last quarter of 2022 has witnessed
two destructive tropical cyclones that have caused widespread devastation to
the country’s agricultural sector.
In late September, Super Typhoon Karding
across Luzon and some parts of the Visayas inflicted P3.12 billion worth of
damage on the country’s agricultural sector, according to the Department of
Agriculture (DA).
Meanwhile, the DA’s initial estimate of the
agricultural damage caused by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng’s onslaught over the
weekend has reached P49.54 million.
Once passed, the measure will require the DA
to develop a comprehensive crop insurance scheme for small farmers in
coordination with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) and in
consultation with the Insurance Commission (IC).
For farmers owning or cultivating five
hectares of farmland and below, their insurance premiums will be subsidized by
the national government.
On the other hand, the national government
will cover half the insurance premiums of planters owning or cultivating more
than five hectares but not exceeding eight hectares of farmland.
“The government has provided subsidies to
support the crop insurance program and has been shouldering shares of insurance
premiums of insured farmers. However, this has not resulted to better outcomes
in terms of alleviating the financial burden of farmers,” reads the explanatory
note.
“The current crop insurance program is often
characterized by a low penetration rate. Further, the coverage remains optional
on the part of self-financed farmers and mandatory only on the part of farmers
obtaining agricultural credit under a loan program,” it added.
Implementing agencies will also be required to create
a database of small farmers and develop a processing and payment system for the
new crop insurance program.
