President Dr Arif Alvi has urged the insurance companies to create reliable, trustworthy, and long-lasting systems to insure crops and agricultural products. These systems must be user-friendly, simple to use, and accessible to farmers, particularly those with holdings of less than 12.5 acres of land, he said during a seminar on "Importance of Crop Insurance in the Modern Era" that was arranged by TLP Insurance.

He said that in order to protect farmers from agricultural losses brought on by tragedies both natural and man-made, as well as unpredictable weather patterns, big landholding farmers need to be insured too, with a focus on those who are only able to support themselves.

The president stated that because agriculture, which formerly accounted for 50% of GDP, has declined in importance and now only accounts for 23% of GDP, it is not receiving the necessary attention from policymakers. He asserted that agriculture remains the foundation of the economy and needs patronage and support from the public and private sectors to ensure food security for the nation. This is only possible if farmers, regardless of the size of their landholdings, are safeguarded from the negative effects and losses they suffer due to man-made and natural disasters.

According to him, Pakistan has an extremely sophisticated system of satellite imagery that continuously generates pertinent data about various weather patterns. But sadly, it has not been properly analysed to predict weather patterns and fluctuations in the weather system, and to warn the farmers against unexpected rain or other natural calamities, he added.

He underlined that significant measures should be taken to analyse satellite data and turn its results into a productive and effective manner at the local level in order to assist farmers in choosing the kind and time of crop planting and to protect them from changes in the weather system.

He noted that in order to provide comprehensive, well-thought-out, and tested insurance products, additional insurance products should be developed in addition to crop insurance for subsidiary products like animal husbandry, milk and dairy products, meat and poultry, fish farming, and vertical farming, among others.

He pointed out that the crop insurance programme developed by the Punjab government with assistance from the World Bank had been successful in protecting the farmers from losses caused by disasters or climate change. He said that this paradigm should be explored, and the results should be applied to the rest of the country. He urged the insurance companies to provide such trustworthy products that instantly inspire the community of farmers and receive their support and adoption.

The president said that, in contrast to other countries, Pakistan has a superb social insurance system where family members and close relatives willingly lend a hand to other family members who have lost loved ones due to various circumstances. He urged the insurance firms to analyse this exceptional social insurance system and create products based on it that would be affordable, sustainable, and likely embraced by the farming community.

He said that the government is responsible for supporting and compensating farmers for crop losses by giving them financial aid to help them overcome the challenges they experience due to various factors, including climate change. He was grateful that the government has provided some relief to those living in flood-affected regions despite its limited financial resources.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk