Luis Planas strengthens the Government’s support for agricultural insurance, key for the countryside and food security in the face of the impact of climate change.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Luis Planas has emphasized this Wednesday that agricultural insurance has become a key instrument for farmers, livestock breeders and fish farmers, as well as a basic guarantee for food security.

Planas made these statements during his appearance at the headquarters of Agroseguro, where he reiterated that agricultural insurance is a “fundamental and irreplaceable” tool for sustaining the incomes of the primary sector and ensuring the future of farms.

As he indicated, in a scenario increasingly conditioned by the effects of climate change, this system is strengthening itself as one of the strategic elements of Spanish agricultural policy.

The minister recalled the “firm and decisive” backing of the Government for agricultural insurance since 2018, support that has been reflected in a steady increase in contracting and insured capital.

Since that year, premiums have grown by 35% and insured capital by 36%, while the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture allocated to agricultural insurance has increased by almost 65%.

Planas stressed that the effectiveness of the system has been proven in episodes of high losses, such as droughts, “danas,” fires or storms, as well as by its ability to adapt to the new demands of the sector and to strengthen the protection of the department’s priority groups, including women and young farmers and livestock breeders.

He also recalled that the agricultural insurance law was one of the first rules approved in the democratic stage and that, over its five decades of validity, it has been adjusted to different realities until it has consolidated itself as a model of international reference.

Along these lines, Planas pointed out that Spain is actively promoting the creation of a public reinsurance mechanism at the Community level, with possible participation by the European Investment Bank (EIB), in order to strengthen the capacity of national agricultural insurance systems in the face of extraordinary loss situations and major climate disasters.

During his visit, the minister highlighted the work of the Agroseguro workforce, which has a highly qualified team to offer an “agile and effective” response to policyholders at all times and, especially, when a loss occurs.

Source - https://www.democrata.es