by Jerome Carlo R. Paunan
To give farmers a bird’s eye view on what crop insurance is all about, here is a brief so that during times of unforeseen disasters, farmers will not be holding an empty bag.
The government’s crop indemnity program provides insurance protection to agricultural producers against loss of the crops on the account of natural calamities, plant pests and disease, and/or other perils.
The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) is the government agency directly responsible for its implementation by virtue of PD 1467 signed on June 11, 1978 and implemented nationwide on May 7, 1981, initially covering palay and followed by corn beginning July 1, 1982. R.A. 8175 signed into law in December 1995 amended P.D. 1467 and is known as the “Revised Charter of Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation.
Under the program, rice and corn farmers and high value commercial crop growers may be able to avail loans from any lending institution (LI) be it commercial, development, rural bank, coop banks, and other LI and lending conduits and other quasi LI, NGOs, coops, and government entities.
Once enrolled, a farmer is assured that he will recover his investment if he suffers crop and other agricultural project losses caused by natural calamities, pest and disease infestation, and other losses.