Coconut farmers in the Philippines decry the restricted funding for crop insurance
Other Fresh Coconut
Philippines
Published Jun 29, 2022
Tridge summary
The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) decried the alleged restrictions on both the amount and sources of funding for the crop insurance coverage of coconut farmers. In a statement, FFF noted that the Trust Fund Committee created under the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act (R.A. No. 11524) and currently chaired by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez recently allocated only P200 million – out of the P400 million allowed by the Act – for crop insurance.
Original content
It further directed that future program financing be sourced exclusively from the said Trust Fund. The FFF noted that the P200 million budget would only cover only 8 percent or about 200,000, out of the country’s 2.5 million coconut farmers registered with the Philippine Coconut Authority. It will insure one hectare per farmer, regardless of the actual size of the coconut farmer’s farm. “Even if we double the coverage by reducing the amount of insurance per farmer or limiting the coverable risks, at least 80 percent of coconut farmers will still not receive any insurance benefit. Given this, why will Dominguez now ban other agencies such as local governments or the Department of Agriculture (DA) from pitching in and augmenting the subsidy from the Trust Fund?”, asked Raul Montemayor, FFF National Manager. He said that Dominguez’ concern about “double-dipping” or securing multiple insurance coverages from various funds can easily be addressed by centralizing the issuance of ...
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