CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro (PIA) — The provincial government of Oriental Mindoro is now pushing for the establishment of a Climate Risk Insurance Program to provide farmers with a safety net against financial losses as a result of natural disasters such as droughts and typhoons and other calamities plaguing the entire agriculture sector.
With climate change intensifying extreme weather events, it becomes imperative to support the livelihood of farmers and millions of Filipinos who depend on agriculture as their source of income according to the spokesperson of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Philippines.
Oriental Mindoro provincial government officials welcomed the policy advisory from the GGGI Philippines, which developed a policy paper on “Climate Insurance for the Agriculture Sector: Recommendation to Oriental Mindoro.”
This is part of the US $5 million (Php 279 million) Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)-funded “Climate Resilient and Inclusive Green Growth for Poor Rural Communities: Accelerating Implementation in the Agriculture Value Chain” project already being implemented in the province.
The policy paper proposes that climate risk insurance would be integrated in the province’s long-term development planning and budgeting. There is also a need to foster insurance awareness and accessibility among target farmer-beneficiaries.
Oriental Mindoro Provincial Administrator Hubbert Christopher A. Dolor (center) together with experts and staff of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Philippines and officials of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) holds a seminar-workshop for provincial government officials to discuss the proposed Climate Risk Insurance Program. (File Photo from GGGI)
Currently, only one-third of over 10 million farm owners in the Philippines are covered by the country’s state agricultural insurer PCIC (Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation). In Oriental Mindoro, only about 25% of rice farmers are insured by the government with a 100% premium subsidy, per 2018 data.
“This is very timely because the province is also bracing for the impacts of El Niño this year. Therefore, we really need to put in place sustainable measures and the right climate risk management approach in order to protect thousands of our smallholder farmers in Oriental Mindoro and over 200,000 hectares of agricultural land,” Provincial Administrator Hubbert Dolor remarked.
One advantage of adopting a climate risk insurance mechanism is that it helps the local government to smoothen budget spending and have the necessary funds to finance emergency assistance, rapid reconstruction, and provide additional support to key sectors.
“This program will provide crucial inputs for the design of viable climate insurance risk products to be introduced by the provincial government,” said KOICA Country Director Eunsub Kim.
On May 11, the provincial government held a seminar workshop at the Provincial Capitol Complex in Calapan City for local leaders to discuss the proposed Climate Risk Insurance Program, a first for the province.
GGGI Philippines experts and staff led by Pepe Nebril, Achilles Estrada and Richard Calawagan presented GGGI’s policy advisory report, its salient features, and recommendations for Oriental Mindoro, while representatives from the PCIC gave an overview of the existing crop insurance, a type of climate risk insurance, in the province.
“We highly recommend the establishment of a province-level database which will contain comprehensive and updated disaster information and climate risks, such as data on specific crops and target farmer beneficiaries that are most vulnerable to climate impacts,” GGGI Philippines Country Representative Juhern Kim said.
State weather bureau PAGASA recently issued an El Niño alert which could bring dry spells and droughts throughout the country beginning this June and might last until the first quarter of next year.
Below-normal rainfall conditions adversely affect the agriculture sector which provides employment for over one-third of the country’s workforce. Farmers suffer the most due to fewer and lower quality yields, it said.
GGGI concluded that the province of Oriental Mindoro is known as the food basket of Southern Luzon as its rich and arable land is conducive to producing large quantities of crops. Through an Executive Order establishing a Climate Risk Insurance Program, the province will strengthen its agriculture industry’s resilience and adaptation to climate impacts, empower farmers to improve their incomes, and ensure food security in the region. (LTC/PIA Mimaropa)
Photo above credit to Oriental Mindoro PIO
