PCIC pays P1.9 billion to farmers for crop damages

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. paid out P1.9 billion in insurance indemnities to farmers and fisherfolks last year, 24 percent higher than the P1.5 billion disbursed in 2016.

The payment allowed more than 175,000 farmers and fisherfolks to recover their losses and restart operations.

Insured farmers’ standing crops were damaged largely due to the weather disturbances that visited the country last year, including Typhoons Urduja and Vinta.

For this year, PCIC is targeting P65 billion in insurance coverage for some two million farmers, up 30 percent from the P50 billion a year ago.

“The bigger insurance coverage and wider reach in terms of beneficiaries are made in anticipation of the more frequent drastic climate changes like strong typhoons and the cyclic El Niño droughts,” PCIC president and CEO Jovy Bernabe said in a forum on Tuesday.

“The increasing awareness about climate threats and importance of crops helped trigger the steady uptrend in subscriptions to PCIC’s various insurance products,” he added.

PCIC’s main program includes free crop insurance coverage for two million farmers and fisherfolks with priority given to those listed under the registry system for the agriculture sector.

PCIC will provide free crop insurance coverage using the P3.5 billion premium subsidy provided by the government under the 2018 General Appropriations Act.

This year’s subsidy is higher than the P2.5 budget allocation last year.

The PCIC provides insurance protection to farmers against losses arising from natural calamities, plant diseases and pest infestations of palay, corn and other crops.