BACOLOD CITY -- The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) has paid almost PHP36.7 million in indemnity claims to rice farmers in Negros Occidental from January to September this year.
Records of the PCIC as of Wednesday showed the claims were received by 7,446 rice farmers covering an area of 7,335.89 hectares.
The PCIC has insured 12,113 rice farmers in Negros Occidental for all programs with an area of 12,297.89 hectares in the first nine months of 2017.
Jose Ma. Torres, insurance underwriter and officer-in-charge of PCIC-Negros Occidental, said records show that a large number of farmers in the province are not yet covered by crop insurance.
“Indemnity claims significantly help farmers sustain their production amid possible damage and losses brought by calamities,” Torres said.
He called on the local government units (LGUs) anew to link the farmers to the PCIC through their respective agriculture offices.
For the first cropping, from June to September this year, PCIC-Negros Occidental insured 9,126 rice farmers with a total area of 9,034.50 hectares.
These include 6,383 farmers with 6,013.99 hectares covered by the Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture (RSBSA); 2,349 farmers with an area of 2,661.61 hectares under the Negros First Universal Crop Insurance Program (NFUCIP); and 125 farmers with 173.44 hectares registered in the Sikat Saka Program (SSP).
A total of 394 farmers with 185.46 hectares were also insured by the PCIC in the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program implemented starting June, covering recipients from Silay City to Escalante City in northern Negros.
The RSBSA is being implemented through the Department of Budget and Management while the SSP is under the Department of Agriculture.
The NFUCIP is being carried out in partnership with the provincial government through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, providing PHP17,000 in claims per hectare of farms damaged and affected by calamity. (PNA)
