Manila: A measure that seeks to strengthen the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) by expanding its services and the agricultural activities it can insure was recently approved by the House of Representatives.
According to Philippines News Agency, in a news release Sunday, House Speaker Faustino Dy III, one of the authors of House Bill (HB) No. 10365, stressed the importance of the measure, given the reality that a single calamity can wipe out not only a farmer's harvest but also months of investment and the means to begin producing again.
The approved measure broadens coverage to qualified farmers and fisherfolk against losses from natural calamities, fortuitous events, plant, livestock and fish diseases, and pest infestations. It provides the PCIC with a perpetual corporate term subject to performance evaluations.
'Kapag tinamaan ng bagyo o baha ang isang magsasaka, hindi lang pananim ang nawawala. Pati puhunan, kita ng pamilya at kakayahan niyang makapagtanim muli ay nanganganib (When a farmer was hit by a typhoon or flood, not only the crops were lost by them. Even the capital, the family income, and the ability to plant again are placed at risk),' Dy said. 'We need an insurance system that helps our farmers get back on their feet instead of forcing them deeper into debt. This measure will ensure that the people who feed our nation have something to fall back on when disaster strikes.'
HB 10365 was passed with 201 affirmative votes, zero negative votes, and zero abstentions. Under the bill, PCIC insurance would extend beyond traditional palay and corn crops to high-value crops, livestock, aquaculture and fishery products, agroforestry crops, and forest plantations. Coverage may also include agricultural machinery, equipment, transport facilities, and related infrastructure, as well as life and accident term insurance for farmers and fisherfolk.
The measure also provides that agricultural insurance should cover production inputs, the market-valued labor of farmers or fisherfolk and their households and hired workers, and a portion of the expected yield. The PCIC would also be authorized to offer parametric or index-based and other innovative insurance products.
HB 10365 would allow PCIC to enter into public-private partnerships, joint ventures, and similar arrangements with agricultural cooperatives, farmers' associations, and other private-sector participants. It also retains government premium subsidies for qualified subsistence farmers cultivating not more than three hectares, subject to periodic review, while requiring that any premium share paid by them remain reasonably affordable.
'Insurance is not simply compensation after a loss. It can mean having the resources to plant again, repair equipment, restore a livelihood, and continue producing food for our communities,' Dy said.
