Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. urged the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) to modernize its operations and develop more affordable insurance products and services to better serve farmers, fisherfolk and livestock raisers.
PCIC, an agency that was recently returned under wings of the Department of Agriculture, should digitalize its processes, upgrade its technologies, and develop insurance products that would provide better protection for its clientele, the DA chief said.
PCIC plays a crucial role in promoting food production by providing insurance protection to farmers, fishermen, and livestock raisers against natural calamities, diseases, pest infestations, and other risks.
With an annual budget of P4.5 billion sourced from the General Appropriations Act, PCIC primarily focuses on indemnifying insurance claims, having serviced 744,000 farmer claims last year alone. This year, the agency aims to expand coverage to 1.2 million farmers, 21,000 livestock raisers, and fisheries stakeholders.
Sec. Tiu Laurel stressed the need for PCIC to evolve from traditional practices, stressing the importance of adopting advanced crop insurance models similar to those in neighboring countries like Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. These improvements aim to enhance indemnification processes which currently rank among the most substantial in the region.
“We’re doing it the way we’ve been doing it for X number of years, it’s time for PCIC to level up,” Sec. Tiu Laurel told PCIC executives in a recent meeting.
Beyond risk protection for farmers and fisherfolk, Secretary Tiu Laurel highlighted the potential for insurance to serve as collateral for accessing financial services from banks and other institutions. He also suggested widening PCIC’s reinsurance strategies to better manage the agency’s risk profile effectively.
The directive underscores the Department of Agriculture’s commitment to modernizing agricultural practices and ensuring that PCIC plays a pivotal role in safeguarding the livelihood of rural communities across the Philippines. ###
