New agro-forestry crops may now be insured by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC).

This, after the Corporation signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The MOA was signed by then Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and PCIC President Atty. Jovy Bernabe.   

“We are pleased to have this opportunity to work with the DENR,” Atty. Bernabe said. ”With this, PCIC can offer insurance protection to more forest farmers, help them recover possible losses, and encourage them to continue planting even after calamities strike.”

At the same time, we will help boost the reforestation drive of the DENR, he added.

The partnership aims to stabilize production and income of the insured forest farmers by providing them quick funds to restart farming operations thru indemnification.

Further, it will serve as incentive for banks and other financing institutions to open credit windows to forest farming

Under the MOA, forestry and agroforestry ventures under the environment and natural resources conservation and protection programs of the DENR may now be insured under the insurance program of the PCIC.

Among the new species being considered for insurance coverage are mangium, auri, bagalunga, ditta, bagras, kamagong, molave, ilang-ilang, bignai and duhat.

For its part, the DENR will link its program partners in forest development to PCIC. These include people’s organizations, cooperatives, individuals, corporations and/or tenure holders.