Agriculture insurance in PH — quo vadis?

WE are all aware of the importance of agriculture in the Philippines and how our food security hinges on the well-being of this sector. Though agriculture is still considered the backbone of the Philippine economy as it employs about 40 percent of Filipino workers, it only contributes an average of 20 percent to the gross domestic product. For the longest time, societal neglect of the sector has worsened the poverty situation. Farmers in rural areas have remained among the poorest group in the Philippines since 2006. A report from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) shows that agriculture is the primary source of income for poor rural people, and the only source for many of the poorest households with most of them depending on subsistence farming and fishing. Figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that farmers had a poverty incidence of 31.6 percent while fisherfolk had 26.2 percent.

If one overlays the effects of climate change and the exacerbation of natural catastrophic events that it may bring, such as typhoons, floods, drought, pests and diseases, it does not augur well for this sector at all.