ESSENTIAL WORK. A farmer transplants rice seedlings in Sumapang Matanda, Malolos, Bulacan on Sept. 14, 2023. The Insurance Commission is eyeing public-private partnership in covering insurance for crops, empowering farmers in increasing their financial resiliency. (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)
MANILA – The Insurance Commission (IC) is eyeing public-private partnership in covering insurance for crops, empowering farmers in increasing their financial resiliency.
During a media forum Friday, IC Commissioner Reynaldo Regalado said they are targeting to increase the number of Filipinos who are insurance holders, not only for health but also for livelihood.
"Speaking of targets, ito po 'yung ating tinatarget nang mabuti, 'yung ating insurance sa crops dahil tinitingnan po namin ang pagtutulungan ng (this is what we're really targeting, the insurance of crops because we're studying) private public partnership on how to cover agriculture insurance which is very important considering our country being one of those areas na talagang madaling maging target ng ganitong sakuna (that are disaster-stricken)," he said.
Crop insurance aims to give farmers relief during typhoons and in dry seasons, such as the El Niño drought phenomenon when crops become too wilted to be harvested.
But only about one-third of the estimated 10.9 million farm owners in the Philippines are covered by crop insurance, according to the Philippine Crop Insurance Commission (PCIC), the country’s dominant agricultural insurer.
Regalado said the PCIC under the Department of Finance is getting ready with an estimated PHP4.5 billion to help cover more areas for crop insurance.
On Thursday, the PCIC, the International Rice Research Institute and the Philippine Rice Research Institute forged a partnership to deliver crop insurance for farmers.
The memorandum of agreement seeks to help make crop insurance products available to some 2.4 million rice farmers.
"We have a program with them. It is mandated by the government to pag aralan nang mabuti 'yung pagcover dahil 'yong premium rates na nagiging issue ngayon ay dahil sa pagtingin po ng ating international partners and granting organizations hindi po viable ang nakalagay na rates (to study the coverage because the premium rates have become the issue because international partners and granting organizations see the rates as not viable)," Regalado said.
He said local reinsurance is usually unable to cover bigger expenses and risk, hence it is important that there are international organizations willing to cover the whole risk the first insurance may encounter when hit by disaster.
Reinsurance is an arrangement where an insurer transfers all or part of a risk to another insurer to provide protection against the risk of the first insurance.
Regalado said the government is considering the coverage of Islamic finance called takaful insurance for the financial inclusion sector.
This insurance caters to the particular needs of the Islamic population, he added, wherein members contribute money into a pool system to guarantee each other against loss or damage.
"Ito ay malawakan nang ginagawa sa Middle East at maging sa ating pong mga katabing bansa. So ngayong taon pa lamang, andun po kami sa sector ng financial literacy (This is already done in the Middle East and our neighboring countries. So this year, we're still in the financial literacy)," he said.
"Kailangan po alam ng mga tao kung ano ang mga produktong ito, paano nila ma-avail at kung ano po ang importante rito ay 'yong risk, kailangan alam po nila yung mga kailangang mga babala tungo sa masigurado nating safe and sound and fair ang mga produktong mga ganito para sa ating mga kababayan (People need to know about this product, how they can avail this, the risks, the warnings to ensure this product is safe and sound and fair for our fellowmen)." (PNA)
