800 Ilocano farmers get crop insurance

Farm land devastated by a typhoon (IT file photo)

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

Laoag City—At least 800 Ilocano farmers will be selected as beneficiaries of a crop insurance the government grants to protect farmers from the impacts of climate change.

According to provincial agriculturist Norma Lagmay, Ilocos Norte, which has been frequently hit by typhoon in this part of Luzon has been included in the more than P1 billion fund the Department of Budget and Management released as financial assistance to farmers around the country.

Ms. Lagmay said the beneficiaries of the program have yet to be identified by the department.

The government’s crop insurance program is meant to help farmers cope with financial losses once hit by typhoon and other natural calamities.

A crop insurance is a risk management tool, enabling farmers to become more resilient and continue production despite severe weather and other challenges that impact their business.

Since 1982 up to this date, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) has recorded many catastrophic typhoons, floods, droughts, plant diseases and pests that wreaked havoc on food crops, resulting to multi-billion losses in the agriculture industry.

Early last year, the Department of Agrarian Reform has also entered into a partnership with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to insure Ilocos Norte land reform beneficiaries against crop damage or losses.

Like the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries-Agricultural Insurance Program, farmers are also protected against losses due to pest and disease infestations, natural calamities and extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change.

The program has accounted for a P17.1 billion crop insurance coverage plan between the DAR and PCIC, an  agency of the Department of Agriculture, in which the DAR provides a premium subsidy worth P1 billion.

The P1.5 million in indemnity payments were made to farmers covering 21 municipalities and two cities of Ilocos Norte where some 900 hectares of un-milled rice were destroyed by typhoons.