AMID the threat of climate change, farmers must have a sense of security. This, in turn, will also ensure our food sufficiency.
The agriculture sector immediately feels the adverse effects every time typhoons strike. For example, disaster authorities put the damage caused by the recent typhoon “Ompong” at over P4 billion.
The massive destruction on agriculture underscores the need to increase the coverage of crop insurance. But the losses go beyond mere plants (rice, corn, coconuts, vegetables, etc). Typhoons hurt the gut of farmers and their families who rely heavily on farming for their livelihoods. While concerned government departments (agriculture, social welfare, etc.) may have contingency funds, we want to see a long-term program that will address crop losses by getting farmers insurance coverage from the state-owned Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC). Helping farmers get insurance coverage for their crops will not only save government funds, but more importantly, give farmers a sense of security amid the threat of climate change.
As an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), PCIC’s principal mandate is to provide insurance protection to farmers against losses arising from natural calamities, plant diseases and pest infestations of their palay and corn crops, as well as other crops. In 2014, PCIC reported a 24.3-percent increase in the number of enrollees in the government’s crop insurance program, registering 924,343 enrollees in 2014, from 743,589 in 2013. Rice, corn and high-value crop farmers covered by its insurance program expanded in size to 778,375 hectares, or 53.82 percent higher compared to the 2013 data. On the other hand, insured livestock rose six-fold to 500,568 in 2014.
However, a study released by government think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies in 2015 found the lack of awareness on PCIC’s programs in some parts of the country. The DA must intensify the information campaign on PCIC’s program to educate farmers on the importance of investing on crop insurance. This is not only logical but also practical.
