Insurance coverage of farm sectors up

Insurance coverage in agricultural products increased by 58 per cent in the last fiscal year.
The Insurance Board attributed the surge to the government subsidy as the government currently offers subsidy equivalent to 75 per cent of the premium amount to encourage farmers to insure their farm products.
The insurance companies sold insurance policies worth Rs 18.72 billion in agricultural products in the last fiscal year 2018-19, compared to the insurance policies of Rs 11.85 billion a fiscal year ago in 2017-18, according to the board that revealed that the insured amount has increased fourfold in the past five years.
Last fiscal year, non-life insurance companies collected Rs 631.44 million in premiums, up from Rs 510.93 million a fiscal year ago. “Over the period, the insurers issued 101,152 policies, some 73 per cent more compared to a fiscal year ago.”
The government – through the budget for the fiscal year 2014-15 – had announced providing 75 per cent subsidy in the premium of agriculture insurance to farmers.
According to the board, the government provided premium subsidies totalling Rs 631.44 million to farmers in the fiscal year 2018-19. “The subsidy was 65 per cent more than the amount a fiscal year ago,” the board claimed, adding that the board made it mandatory for non-life insurers to provide agriculture insurance services, assigning them certain districts to carry out the business due to low coverage.
The board has enforced over two dozens of distinct insurance policies to cover major livestock and crops – including ginger, coffee, paddy, mushroom, potato, sugarcane, seed, vegetable, turmeric, cardamom, banana, cattle, fish, poultry and goat – produced in the country.
Likewise, farmers can claim insurance, if their crop or livestock is damaged from fire, lightning, earthquake, flood, inundation, drought, landslide, tornado, hailstorm and snowfall. They can also claim insurance for losses due to pest and disease, the board added.
According to the board, the share of crop insurance is still negligible compared to insuring livestock. In the last fiscal year, farmers purchased policies in crop insurance amounting to Rs 834.58 million, which stood at only 4.7 per cent of the total insured amount in farm products. “In the crop insurance, farmers purchased policies worth Rs 547.39 million to cover risks in fruit production.”

Tornado damaged crops and cattle of Rs 507 million

The tornado that hit Bara and Parsa districts last fortnight caused Rs 507 million worth of crops and cattle loss, according to a preliminary report released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development today. 
The report reads that 10 municipalities in the two districts were hit by the 90-km-per-hour tornado on March 31. It claimed 28 lives and left hundreds homeless in the southern Tarai plains.
According to the report, crops on 1,096 hectares of land were completely damaged and 1,728 hectares were partially damaged in Bara, whereas crops on 339 hectares were completely destroyed and partially damaged on 1,388 hectares in Parsa district.
The report also revealed that fruit orchards suffered the highest losses. "Fruits on 289 hectares of land amounting to Rs 297 million were wiped out by the rainstorm," it reads, adding that Bara district alone suffered losses of Rs 236 million. "Wheat crops on 2,791 hectares of land were destroyed."
The ministry estimated that the value of the wheat crops lost amounted to Rs 109 million. Bara alone suffered wheat crop losses of Rs 65 million. The rainstorm has partially and completely destroyed maize crops on 513 hectares of Rs 48 million, whereas vegetable and lentil crops were also damaged. "Some 10,494 head of cattle worth Rs 7.58 million were killed by the tornado in both districts."
The report has also recommended the government to support farmers with shallow tube wells, seeds, fertilisers and micro nutrients. It urged the provincial government also to provide additional subsidies on crop insurance.
According to the report, some 1,058 houses in two districts were completely destroyed, and the farmers’ food stocks were buried when the houses collapsed. "Two metal bins with a capacity of two quintals each should be provided per family."
Meanwhile, the government relief announcement and distribution has become complicated due to three tiers of government; federal, state, and local. Unlike in the past, the federal government cannot announce and distribute relief packages to the farmers directly as the law does not allow the federal ministry to announce and distribute relief packages or allocate a budget to provincial and local governments for relief distribution purposes.
The federal ministry has prepared a plan, in case local and provincial governments are not able to issue relief packages. "If they request, the ministry will table the proposal at the Cabinet to approve the required funding to distribute relief packages in the affected areas."
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has, however, projected that wheat harvest could exceed 2 million tonnes and set a new record this fiscal year, largely due to good weather during the growing season in the winter. Wheat is the Nepal's third most common cereal crop after paddy and maize.
Meanwhile, authorities in Bara have estimated the damage caused by the devastating tornado on March 31 stood around Rs 234.48 million. According to the data compiled by the Disaster Management Committee, some 16,449 persons of 2,493 households were affected. "At least 530 persons, including 275 women, were injured in the storm," it said, adding that around two dozen injured are undergoing treatment at health facilities.

Crops across 3,736 bighas damaged in Bara

The devastating tornado – the first ever recorded in Nepal – that hit Bara villages on Sunday night has also affected agricultural sector, apart from human casualty and injuries.
According to a preliminary report by the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoLMAC) of Province 2, the tornado damaged crops and fruits across 3,736 bighas of land across 21 villages in Bara district.
Crops including wheat, maize, vegetables, red lentils and fruits that had already been planted in 1,505 bighas of land in Bara have been completely damaged, the report reads, adding that the disaster has partially affected planted crops and fruits across 2,231 bighas of land. "The tornado has primarily affected wheat that was ready for harvest."
Secretary at MoLMAC of Province 2 Vijay Chandra Jha said that that the report is a preliminary document. "The actual impact on the agriculture sector will be known only after a few days as a number of teams have been deployed in the field to collect data."