The Azerbaijan Agricultural Insurance Fund has made insurance payouts for damages to tobacco fields for the first time.

Hail and flooding affected approximately 130 hectares of insured crops. Following farmers' claims, independent agricultural insurance experts were sent to the farms to assess the damage. The experts inspected the tobacco fields, documented the incidents, and calculated losses.

Based on the collected data, appropriate insurance compensations were assigned to the farmers, and the funds were transferred to their accounts.

In total, around 147,000 Azerbaijani manats were paid to farmers for damages to tobacco crops. Of this amount, 58,000 manat ($34,117) were allocated to farmers in the Shaki district, 27,000 in Balakan, 29,000 in Zagatala, and 33,000 in Gakh.

The Agricultural Insurance Fund covers tobacco fields against natural events and incidents such as hail, storms, hurricanes, floods, snowfall, wild animal attacks, and third-party actions. Since 50 percent of the agricultural insurance payment is covered by the government, farmers can insure their tobacco fields for a relatively low cost. For example, in the Shaki-Zagatala region, insuring one hectare of tobacco field with a basic package costs a farmer about 250 manat ($147). When also covering the risk of quality loss due to hail, the insurance premium is about 320 manat ($188.2)—only 10 percent of the annual expenses per hectare of tobacco.

Tobacco is cultivated on 2,600 hectares in Azerbaijan, with 98 percent of these fields located in the Shaki-Zagatala region. Farmers in this area have also received agricultural insurance payouts for their tobacco fields.

Thanks to measures expanding farmers’ access to agricultural insurance, farmers, landowners, and livestock operators can now insure their holdings through the "AsanPay" payment system without leaving home.

Detailed information about insurance terms and rates for products covered by agricultural insurance is available on the official website of the Agricultural Insurance Fund in the “Plant Products” section. Additional information can be obtained by following the fund’s social media pages or by calling the short number 1651.

Source - Trend News Agency