DA mulls new crop insurance scheme

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) is pushing for more automatic weather stations that will hopefully allow for a weather-based insurance scheme for agricultural crops.

 Agriculture Undersecretary Serrano, who is in charge of studying the new insurance scheme, said the DA is pilot-testing the AWS in Panay and in Cagayan Valley.

The AWS will provide site-specific weather data which the farmers can use in planning their crop production.

According to Serrano, instead of relying on PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Service Agency) to gather data on weather movements and patterns, the AWS would in gather site-specific weather data which the local farmers could easily use.

An AWS, Serrano said cots only around P30,000. He said a P1 billion allocation for AWS would go a long way in helping farmers, he added.

The AWS, Serrano explained, would help in the adoption of a weather-based actuarial study on agricultural crops that would allow for a more effective and efficient insurance coverage.

Serrano said a weather-based crop insurance system would depend on site specific weather data.

Based on said data, certain parameters could be set. For instance, if conditions are above or below those set parameters, the farmers would have to be compensated for damage to their crops.

Under the present crop insurance system, farmers pay a premium for insurance coverage.

Government contributes additional coverage through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC).

Unfortunately, Serrano explained, if the farmer’s crop is devastated, an adjuster is needed to assess the actual damage which will be the basis for the insurance compensation.

The adjuster process, Serrano said, becomes expensive because it takes time for the adjuster to evaluate the extent of the damage especially if the insured crop area is located in a remote area and there are several claims to be investigated and evaluated.