Farmers whose crops were been damaged by natural calamities, pests and diseases can claim their indemnity payments, at 10 a.m. today at the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, OPA Senior Agriculturist, Dina Genzola said yesterday.

Genzola said 74 farmers from San Enrique, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, La Castellana, EB Magalona and Bago and La Carlota cities, whose farms are covered by the Negros First Universal Crop Insurance Program, are claimants of the crop indemnity payments. She said the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation has released P399.664 for insurance damage.

She also said the NFUCIP is a crop insurance program of the Department of Agriculture aimed to cushion the farmers from the impact of calamities, pests and diseases. The program started in 2010 with exclusive coverage for rice crops only, but later expanded to include crops such as bananas, sugarcane, high-value commercial crops, fisheries (tilapia) and even motorized and non-motorized bancas, she said.

She said the coverage rate for every hectare of rice is P17,680 with P840 premium due, corn is P10,000 with a premium due of 985, banana is P90 per tree with P822 premium due every 500sq.meters, sugarcane at P30,000 with a premium due of 2,467, high value crops at P10,000 per 500 sq. meters with premium due of P822, tilapia P15,000 with a premium due of P1,233, motorized banca 10,000 per year with a premium due of P508 and non-motorized banca, P6,000 with a premium of P475 per year.

She said they are disseminating the information to encourage more farmers to enroll in the program. OPA is echoing the call of Secretary Alcala for the farmers to avail of the insurance to protect their investments from the possible damage caused by natural calamities, pests, and diseases.

Source - http://www.visayandailystar.com/