Jakarta – The government provides subsidies for Rice Farming Insurance (AUTP) as protection to anticipate climate change impacts which have begun to hit a number of regions in Indonesia, officials said. The subsidy is provided through the Ministry of Agriculture with a reduced premium paid by farmers every harvest season.
AUTP was launched in order to protect farmers from experiencing losses due to crop failure due to pest attacks and climate change. Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo, said in a written release Friday (6/5), that agriculture is a sector that is vulnerable to plant destruction organisms (OTP) attacks and climate change.
He said, therefore, there must be a protection program for farmers. “We urge farmers to protect themselves through AUTP or agricultural insurance, so that farmers have protection to anticipate climate change.”
The Director General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities (PSP) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ali Jamil added, by obtaining agricultural insurance, farmers can get coverage if they experience crop failure.
He said coverage provided by agricultural insurance is up to IDR 6 million (USD 415) per hectare per season. With the agricultural insurance program, farmers can still try to replant after experiencing crop failure.
“With this program, we want food security and agricultural productivity not to be disrupted. With agricultural insurance, farmers can have their capital back to redevelop their farm,” said Jamil.
Farmers who want to join the AUTP program must be members of farmer groups and register their rice fields 30 days before the planting season. They have to pay a premium of IDR 36 thousand (USD 2.50) per season per hectare, of the total premium of IDR 180 thousand (USD 12.50) per season per hectare. The remaining IDR 144 thousand (USD 10) per season per hectare is subsidised by the government through the state budget. (Hartatik)
