THE Provincial Government of Negros Occidental has alloted about P19.2 million in additional fund for its crop insurance program aimed at helping local farmers.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) president Jovy Bernabe for the transfer of funds at the Provincial Capitol Building in Bacolod City Thursday, April 14, 2021.
Dubbed "Negros First Crop Insurance Program (NFUCIP)," the program is a joint initiative of the provincial government and the PCIC to insure agricultural crops in the province.
The additional fund is intended for the implementation of the insurance program for the crop year 2021 and onwards.
Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino, who was also present at the MOA signing, said the insurance program is a big help for farmers in the province.
"This will help them in mitigating the harmful effects of climate change and other natural calamities such as typhoons, floods, drought, earthquake and volcanic eruption as well as plant diseases and pest infestations," he added.
Now in its 10th year, the NFUCIP was initiated to address the gaps in the agriculture sector and climate change that have been adversely affecting crop production and threatening the state of food security in the province.
Record of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) showed that a total of 62,821 farmers with 72,806.16 hectares of farms have been insured as of December 31 last year.
Of the total farmers enrolled, 38,447 recipients had received indemnity claims amounting to almost P184.4 million.
The amount covers 40,712 hectares of damaged rice, corn and high-value crop farms, it added.