Agroinsurance

USA - Tractor-hacking farmers fight for right to repair under equality law

The days of home tractor repair are coming to an end with machinery technology and tightening intellectual property restrictions meaning farmers are forced to pay big bucks to fix their machinery. When Nebraska farmer Tom Schwarz bought a tractor he did not realise he would be bound to his John Deere dealer who holds onto intellectual property rights to fix it. "When you paid the money for a tractor, you didn't actually buy the tractor … because all of the intellectual property is still theirs," Mr Schwartz told tech journalist Jason Koebler in a documentary released earlier this month. "You just buy the right to use it … for life." Farmers and independent machinery repairers across the United States are now campaigning for the right to fix their own machinery. Mr Schwartz had always bought second-hand parts to keep his machinery going, but is now forced to call a dealer because of its software. "We will put components on tractors. As farmers we don't like to spend a lot of money so we buy used components if we can," he said. "It used to be we'd mount them ourselves and we'd utilise the tractor from that point on. "Now we can't get the component and the tractor to talk to each other. So you literally have to bring Deere out to do all this or your tractor is not going to operate." Farmers hacking their own tractors In Nebraska, a "fair repair" law is being proposed to allow farmers to repair their own tractor. If successful, the Right to Repair Act would make it mandatory for companies to disclose their diagnostic software and sell parts. Journalist Jason Koebler told the ABC that farmers are using software downloaded from Ukraine to avoid the onerous restrictions. "Farmers are hacking their own tractors. In places like Ukraine and Eastern Europe the software is sold to farmers without the encryption they have in other countries like the United States," he said. "So what people in Ukraine are doing is uploading these versions of the software for free online, and people in Nebraska are pirating it and hacking their tractors with it. "They're essentially able to have access to the same technology the John Deere dealerships have in order to fix their things." The risk for these farmers is that they will break their warranty. John Deere declined the ABC's interview request but provided this statement: John Deere recommends against unauthorised modification of the embedded software code. The embedded software code is designed and tested to ensure a positive and safe experience for customers. Manufacturers have invested in developing embedded software code to ensure the equipment operates safely and accurately. Allowing untrained individuals to modify equipment software may result in equipment that no longer complies with industry and safety standards, or environmental regulations. Australian farmers 'don't get a choice' Mr Koebler said the fair repair issue extends beyond machinery companies, with firms like Apple and Microsoft taking interest in the Nebraska case. "It's also your iPhone. Apple doesn't sell parts to your iPhone," he said. "Companies have been moving towards this model where they sell you something and you end up having to go to a manufacturer for service on that." It is already happening to your car in Australia. The ACCC has found car manufacturers are withholding their technical information and may require them to share with independent manufacturers. Australian farmers, who have always fixed their own machinery, are keeping a close eye on the US case. Western Australia farmer Paul Green said Australia might be in even greater need for a "right to repair" movement than the US. "Australia doesn't get a choice in the types of engines we get. We just get what the Americans and the Europeans build because the Australian market is just too small," Mr Green said. "If you buy a tractor, you buy a tractor and it's yours. And the big companies are now trying to say if you buy a tractor, it's not yours. "You have the right to use their tractor and that's the issue I think." Source - http://www.abc.net.au

Zimbabwe - Govt must support agric insurance

Unpredictable rainy seasons, livestock and crop diseases outbreaks, uncertain markets and other risks in the agricultural sector call for appropriate insurance packages for the country to fully enjoy the benefits of Command Agriculture. Agriculture is a high-risk economic activity and investment in that sector without insurance is an added risk factor. Agriculture is a source of livelihood of more than 40% of Zimbabwe’s population. Insurance can play an important role in securing farmers’ livelihoods and boosting the efficiency of the agricultural sector. Access to agricultural insurance remains low, which calls for proper government planning and support. Commendably, the government has been assisting agriculture through subsidies and input credit under the Command Agriculture programme. However, credit without insurance is an added risk factor which calls for strong government support in making insurance accessible to all farmers. Considering the new dispensation’s focus on agriculture, agricultural insurance should be part of the country’s agricultural policy and any other government intervention in the agricultural sector. Government should take the strategic lead for insurance especially for rural agricultural communities. It should ensure that insurance is included in national agricultural policy as a part of a broader strategy that creates capacities and incentives for agricultural risk management. Inputs that are being given to farmers under the command agriculture initiative should automatically carry an insurance package which will assist farmers in times of bad harvests. This may entail adding an insurance premium on the price of inputs. The government, through the Reserve Bank, may also push for integration of agriculture insurance activities with those of microfinance institutions, rural savings and credit co-operatives and/or other suppliers of credit for agricultural inputs. Aligning the agricultural value chain with the financing value chain will make insurance valuable to all stakeholders. Government support may also come in the form of market development of agricultural insurance. Through command agriculture and the Presidential Input Scheme, the government can use the interventions to build a farmers’ database. Accurate, affordable and accessible data are critical for developing scalable insurance products. The government is well positioned to bridge this gap. The government may also consider incentivising rural markets. Public policy and regulation can be used in a way that helps government facilitate development of rural insurance markets, for example through a facilitative tax and regulatory intervention, and by protecting the interests of the consumers. Some governments have attempted this by removing the tax on agricultural incomes as in India or by reducing or removing the value-added tax on insurance premiums as in Uganda and Rwanda. Policymakers need to explore ways of improving the interaction between government programmes and the private sector. The private sector can effectively assist in implementation of government programmes, for which they can leverage the agriculture extension services for education campaigns and redress for consumer grievances. Limited financing in the agricultural sector, especially for smallholder farmers, may be the result of limited insurance packages that suit this important segment of the economy. Farmers need user-friendly insurance instruments covering production, right from sowing to post-harvest operations, stockbreeding to slaughtering and also to cover the market risks for all crops and livestock throughout the country. Proper policy support is needed in Zimbabwe and given limited private player participation, it therefore requires the government to come up with an affordable policy that will cement its command agriculture initiative. Source - https://www.theindependent.co.zw

USA - Freeze leaves California's almond growers fearing 'significant' damage

A cold snap in the heart of California's agriculture industry could be devastating to the almond crop and ultimately lead to higher prices. It follows three-straight nights of bitter-cold temperatures this week in the San Joaquin Valley — the hub of almond production — where temperatures sank to the low-20s overnight starting Tuesday. Almonds are in full bloom and vulnerable to frost damage that could wipe out future nuts on the trees. The weather forecast says more freezing temperatures could come this weekend. "I think it's going to be significant, but we're not going to know the extent of damage for some time," said Bill Dietrich, who farms almonds in the Central Valley. "We're at full bloom, which is not the most sensitive stage but it is a sensitive stage." Higher prices possible If the crop is damaged, there could be a reduced supply available on the market and that could mean higher prices for consumers and food manufacturers. Almonds are a lucrative crop with more than 1 million acres of the nut trees planted in California, mostly in the San Joaquin Valley. The state produces about 80 percent of the world's almond supply. On Tuesday, the Blue Diamond Growers cooperative of more than 3,000 California almond growers warned that "all almond varieties are at significant risk of loss when overnight temperatures reach 28 degrees and below." Officials said there also is chance of damage to other crops, including deciduous tree fruit such as peaches, plums and nectarines as well as some citrus. Regardless, they said the extent of any damage may not be fully known for weeks or months since blossom damage to trees typically takes time to show up. "Most likely there's going to be some damage from the current weather situation we're going through," said Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen. "It's just unknown how extensive it's going to be." Farmers take precautions Low temperatures were recorded as far north as Chico and down near Bakersfield in the state's Central Valley. Some almond growers took precautions by using wind machines or sprinklers to protect the blooms from frost and freezing. The weather service recorded temperatures as low as 23 degrees Tuesday in some key growing counties and 25 degrees on Wednesday; upper-20s were common Thursday. However, Friday morning brought some relief with cloud cover helping to keep temperatures out of the danger zone. However, the National Weather Service said a freeze watch remained in effect from Friday night through Saturday morning in parts of the Central Valley. "Sub-freezing temperatures are possible," NWS warned, adding "these conditions could kill crops and other sensitive vegetation." In terms of crops in California's $45 billion agricultural industry, nuts (including almonds and walnuts) rank first in value and then grapes. The $6 billion nut business employs more than 100,000 people in the state. This photo provided by farmer Ryan Jacobsen shows a field and branches on his almond trees covered in ice, a result of micro sprinklers that are turned on to release heat from the water to raise the field temperature 1-3 degrees, in his orchard near Fresno in California's Central Valley Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018. Citrus at risk Another key agricultural commodity in the region is citrus, a $3 billion industry employing more than 20,000 full-time workers. Roughly half of the navel orange and mandarin crop is already harvested in the Central Valley but the warm temperatures in January and early February caused citrus trees to bloom a few weeks before they typically do, so the early growth is now vulnerable to frost damage. "Where we might see some damage, and we're watching for this, is on the new growth," said Alyssa Houtby, a spokesperson for the California Citrus Mutual, which represents more than 80 percent of the state's citrus industry. "If there's any significant damage to a majority of that bloom that's on the tree, we might see an impact to next year's crop." Meantime, any significant damage to crops could lessen the farmworker shortage in the Central Valley this year but also have ripple effects on the local economy that depends heavily on agriculture-related employment. Jacobsen said last year was "an extraordinarily tight year" for farm labor supply in the Central Valley and arguably the tightest the region has seen in a decade. "The damage to crops is going to probably be more of a dictator of what kind of labor is needed for this year," he said. Source - https://www.cnbc.com

World's first hands-free crop planted, grown and harvested in the UK

Researchers in the United Kingdom have successfully grown the world's first crop of barley using nothing but robot tractors and drones. The project's aim was to have no operators in the driving seats of the machines or have any agronomists set foot into the 1-hectare paddock. Researcher Martin Abell said there was a lot of farming already automated, such as GPS steering, but it was rare to grow an entire crop without anyone stepping into the paddock. Hence the name of the project — Hands Free Hectare. Mr Abell said the crop was seeded, sprayed, monitored and harvested autonomously, and it is something farmers could be doing soon. "We have been able to show the public that this is something that isn't too far ahead in the future, and it could be happening now," he said. "It has also allowed us to raise the perception of agriculture to the public, so they see it as a forward-thinking industry and something that might attract new people to the industry." Drone technology automates processes Researchers used drone technology to automate small agricultural machines, such as tractors and chaser bins. They also used drones to monitor and bring samples for agronomists to check. "They were essentially our eyes, so we would assess the field using a multi-spectral camera and get imagery from the field showing us where it was strongest and weakest," Mr Abell said. "We would then send a little ground rover that would collect samples for us that we could conduct agronomy on. "And this meant we aren't walking out and on the crop as much, therefore protecting the crop a bit more." Researcher Martin Abell checks the data from the Hands Free Hectare paddock. To get the tractors to work for seeding and harvest, the researchers used an autopilot from a drone, which Mr Abell said was unconventional for research. "We only had a year to do this project so we had to pick something that didn't require much development," he said. "It also brought its problems, because the navigation algorithms within a drone are vastly different from those conventionally used for the auto steers on tractors to drive in straight lines. "So we had to adapt that system to work like an auto steer system and achieve those straight lines that farmers are familiar with." More testing needed to scale up After a year of growing, monitoring and harvesting the crop of barley, the researchers were able to show the future of farming could be completely automated. But there is still plenty of work and testing to be done on a larger scale. Mr Abell said they were able to prove it could be feasible because part of the project was to do it on a small budget. "It was roughly $350,000 we had and that was also to hire three people's time, as well as all the equipment we had to buy. "I am sure if we can make it happen on that budget they can do it commercially with something that is user-friendly for farmers." The barley crop was harvested completely hands-free. Mr Abell said the barley that was grown in the Hands Free Hectare would be put to good use. "We are currently getting our barley malted to produce a hands-free beer and it is in the process at the moment," he said. "So hopefully in a couple of months we will have a hands-free beer, which will be nice finish to the project, to celebrate drinking some of that." Source - http://www.abc.net.au

India - World Bank interested in expanding satellite-based flood insurance scheme

After the success of the pilot project on Index-Based Flood Insurance (IBFI) for farmers in Bihar, the World Bank has shown interest in helping to scale up the plan across eastern India, officials said. The World Bank is interested in scaling up IBFI in flood-prone districts across eastern India following the successful implementation of its pilot in flood-affected villages in Muzaffarpur district in Bihar, Griraj Amarnath, research group leader of water risks and disaster at the Colombo-based International Water Management Institute (IWMI), told. Amarnath said the World Bank was in talks with the IWMI to promote IBFI. "I am discussing the IBFI with the World Bank and we are hopeful that the outcome will be positive to provide help to flood-affected farmers on a large scale in India," he said. IBFI uses advanced modelling techniques with satellite data to enable quick insurance pay-outs to those affected by floods. The institute used remote-sensing data and simulation modelling to provide regular updates on flooding to the Emergency Operation Centre of the Disaster Management Department in support of relief operations and damage assessment. Satellite data has never been used before for providing insurance to flood-affected farmers. According to Alok K. Sikka, India representative at IWMI, the Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AICI) had agreed to pay out money to farmers based on the scientific method. "It is a real test on the ground and we have succeeded," Sikka said. The IBFI pilot project was carried out by IWMI in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), AICI and Swiss RE, a leading global reinsurer. "It is a more reliable and credible way to safeguard rural livelihoods," Sikka said, adding that IWMI was likely to use it in more districts in Bihar and other flood-prone states in eastern India. The pay-out decision was determined on the basis of data indicating the actual depth and duration of flood waters in the paddy fields. Sikka said that of the 2,000 farm households involved in pilot-testing, 43 would receive compensation via bank transfers. On Thursday, the Union Minister for Agriculture, Radha Mohan Singh, handed over "dummy cheques" to 15 of the 43 farmers at the ICAR complex for Eastern Region here. The ministry had also agreed to discuss the IBFI scheme. Amarnath said the 14 farmers, who suffered total crop loss, received the full insured amount of Rs 20,000 per hectare. But other farmers received insured amount of Rs 7,000 to Rs 14,000, depending on the loss of crop. Within the the pilot-project area, floods had affected 36,620 hectares of paddy, mainly in the Madhurpatti and Bhatgaon villages. In the initial pilot stage, the insurance product was fully subsidised, covering rice crops in the 2017 monsoon season -- from early July until the end of October, with a total insured value of about Rs 46 lakh. IWMI is a non-profit, scientific research organisation focusing on the sustainable use of water and land resources in developing countries. It had selected Bihar for this pilot project as it is the country's most flood-prone state that suffers heavy agriculture losses every year. Experts have time and again stated that crop insurance can help farmers deal with the risks and losses associated with disasters like floods or droughts. Source - http://www.business-standard.com

Nepal - Ilam farmers’ response to agro insurance ‘lukewarm’

Agricultural insurance has failed to take off in Ilam due to lack of knowledge among farmers and lackluster efforts on the part of government officials and insurance companies. The government provides a 75 percent subsidy on insurance premiums, but farmers either seem to be unaware of the benefits of insuring their agro and livestock products or put off by the hassles involved in buying insurance and filing claims. Non-life insurers have been marketing various agricultural insurance schemes since the introduction of the Crops, Livestock and Poultry Insurance Directive in January 2013. These schemes can be purchased by paying an annual premium of 5 percent of the assessed value of the crops and livestock. Although billions of rupees have been invested in agricultural products and livestock in Ilam, farmers are not keen on buying insurance to protect the investments. Dearth of awareness related to agro and livestock insurance in the district has been attributed to lack of funds with the responsible local bodies, slow distribution channels of the insurance companies, and also insufficient efforts by the District Agricultural Office (DAO) to promote agricultural insurance. Head of the DAO Ram Baran Shah said, “The small budget allocated to the local units responsible for implementing agro subsidies has contributed to the low effectiveness of government in promoting agro insurance.” Some farmers are also discouraged from purchasing farm and livestock insurance schemes due to the complex and lengthy paperwork. A farmer wishing to purchase a crop or livestock insurance policy is required to submit a photocopy of the citizenship certificate and the proposal form. The insurance company assigns a representative to monitor the crops or livestock and assess the value of the insured property according to the guidelines of the government and recommendations of experts. If an insured farm animal dies, the owner receives 90 percent of the assessed value. If the animal is disabled, the owner receives 50 percent, and if the animal is sterile, the owner receives 30 percent. If an insured crop is damaged, compensation of up to 90 percent of the assessed value is disbursed only after the supervision of experts. Farmers complain that the insurance claim process is cumbersome. To receive insurance money for a dead farm animal, farmers need to inform the company through a written notice within three days. They also have to submit pictures of the dead animal along with recommendations from both the local unit and the branch of the Animal Service Office. Neco Insurance Company (NIC) is the only insurance company operating in the district through 12 insurance agents. Many farmers bought policies and claimed insurance for ginger during the last fiscal year, the company said. The company has been insuring cows and buffaloes in the district, although it also offers insurance coverage for other animals like horse, mule, sheep, goat and pig. In the first six months of this fiscal year, it insured 1,012 cows and 67 buffaloes. NIC also operates in other districts like Jhapa, Panchthar, Taplejung and Morang. A company official said that some farmers created problems by filing claims for an amount higher than the insured value. Sarbagya Khatiwada, an agricultural expert associated with NIC, said, “We offer insurance services to farmers within the governmental framework and existing rules.” He said that insurance money was disbursed to 13 clients in Ilam during this fiscal year. According to rules issued by the Insurance Board, an autonomous regulatory agency of the country, insured clients have to settle claims within 30 days of submitting the documents. Source - http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

Africa - Big data drives more finance to agribusiness

An increase in the accumulation of large datasets on agribusiness in Africa is proving crucial to the financing of a sector often overlooked by banks. “We’re seeing the impact of the availability of data having a much more positive impact on access to financing,” says Antois van der Westhuizen, managing director of John Deere Financial, Sub-Sahara Africa. He tells that, over the last 12 to 18 months, data on Africa’s agribusiness sector has increased, which is bringing about a change in financiers’ opinions on financing smaller-scale farming enterprises. The influx of data has been driven by companies such as John Deere, which collects and processes massive amounts of information on factors such as soil type, seed variety and weather by connecting its own pieces of equipment to one another as well as to owners and operators. In addition to working with commercial farmers engaged in precision farming, the company has also started gathering the same information from small-scale operators to calculate how they can achieve profitability, and, ultimately, bankability. As the agri sector evolves, it continues to attract much attention from technology entrepreneurs keen on developing new big data platforms and solutions. Aerobotics, a South African-based startup specialising in aerial data analytics, is one such company. “At the moment it’s very much a data collection play,” the company’s co-founder and CTO, Benji Meltzer tells. Aerobotics’ current product is an “early warning” system which helps farmers discover problems early on, and provides them with an overall assessment of their crop. The company has developed a platform that identifies the data using drone and satellite imagery and then diagnoses it. The longer-term plan is to become more predictive and diagnostic; to be able to capture the data and use it for longer-term projects, says Meltzer. Aerobotics’ focus until now has been on large-scale commercial farmers, given the logistical challenges such as access to technology and the internet that exist in more rural locations. It has been involved in some pilot projects with insurance companies but is now working actively with Nedbank on finalising an agri data-gathering partnership. Banks favour a partnered approach Despite the increase in information and recent advances in big data analytical and computational capability, commercial banks are reticent to go it alone when engaging with small-scale farmers on a bilateral basis. Partnerships with the likes of commodity trading companies and agricultural co-operatives, which can act as the obligor and facilitator, remain key. This thinking is linked to strict compliance and regulatory requirements, says Zhann Meyer, head of agricultural commodities in Nedbank’s global commodity finance team. “Engaging in input financing programmes with thousands of small-scale farmers operating on one hectare of communal land each makes effective management of production and delivery risk a cumbersome and expensive exercise. We definitely think that big data is a helpful tool, but we have to engage with a partner to make this work on a collective basis,” he says. “Most of our finance products are based on derivatives of classic pre-export finance models where you would typically pay for roll out of inputs and then expect the crop to come back as repayment for these loans. For us to practically implement these structures in our footprint countries, we would require a partnership based on both a reliable aggregator acting as our obligor, as well as accurate datasets to make informed decisions about crop germination and yield estimates.” He agrees that banks are becoming more comfortable with weather derivatives and index-based insurance products, which he says are becoming more predictable and accurate – purely because of the length of the period of data gathering and advancements in technology. Banks aside, other, more specialised financiers such as leasing companies and hedge funds are showing increased interest in investing in the sector. “They take big data a lot more seriously in terms of analysing affordability than what we see from the regional banks,” says van der Westhuizen at John Deere Financial. What’s more, financiers of all kinds across the continent are coming round to the idea of using data when making business lending decisions. “In Kenya and Tanzania, 72% of the population makes use of mobile banking, and only 8 to 12% use formalised banking systems. If you want to apply for a loan, you have to give bank statements, so the majority of clients won’t be able to do that,” he explains. But, he says, this is changing as more banks and leasing companies are now prepared to use clients’ mobile money statements along with production data, provided by the likes of John Deere, to verify if they will be able to repay their loans. “We’ve seen more and more loans being made available for those clients to start purchasing inputs as well as mechanised equipment,” he adds. Source - https://www.gtreview.com

Australia - Macadamia harvest forecast slashed after severe storms put a dent in crop

A number of isolated but serious storms have dealt a blow to the 2018 macadamia crop, slashing the forecast harvest by thousands of tonnes. While the expected crop of 47,600 tonnes in-shell is slightly up on last year, it is still a substantial drop on the record 52,000 tonne crop of 2016. This time last year the industry's peak body, the Australian Macadamia Society, had predicted another record crop of 54,000 tonnes which was up four per cent for 2017. But in March Cyclone Debbie wreaked havoc on orchards in Queensland and NSW. This was followed by record rainfall in June in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, resulting in the forecast being revised down by the year's end to 46,000 tonnes. Several severe weather events followed in November and December and they are being blamed for a substantial loss in crop for the 2018 forecast. Crop had been looking promising AMS chief executive officer Jolyon Burnett estimated those storms resulted in a loss of up to 4,000 tonnes of macadamias. "We think about 1,000 tonnes up in Bundaberg from the really wild storm that we had there, and maybe as much as 2,000 maybe 3,000 tonnes in the Northern Rivers from the two hailstorms that each cut a swathe through some of our most productive farms," Mr Burnett said. He said 2018's forecast was disappointing as the crop had been looking so promising. "It's important that we can demonstrate to the marketplace that Australia is a reliable and consistent supplier of high quality nuts," he said. "On the other hand I do think it's a bit of a testament to our growers that they have been able to rebound from the damage caused by Cyclone Debbie and the floods — particularly in NSW — and the really dry weather in drought-declared Bundy last year." Counting the cost of hail damage Austin Curtin estimates losses of up to $100,000 as a result of the November hailstorm that struck his family's farms at Tregeagle, near Lismore. For the family business that will mean the forecast will be slightly lower than 2017. "We had a really good year and through some efficiencies we were up 30 per cent to 80 tonnes at our farm. We might be back around the 65 to 70 tonnes mark," he said. "We got hit on November 5 by this snooker-sized hail and both our orchards, which are two kilometres apart from each other. One of them harder than the other. "It's very hard to see all those nuts at the time of the year on the ground and around the trees. "It's hard to tell until it comes into the silo but I was looking at it thinking that maybe if we are eight to 15 tonnes down at current prices you're looking upwards at that $50,000, $60,000 or $70,000 mark just in terms of getting nut into the silo." Grower optimistic about harvest Many growers in the Northern Rivers managed to dodge the worst of the hailstorms. Andrew Starkey, who manages four farms across 40 hectares south of Bangalow, said he came close to losing a large amount of crop. "We were trapped in the shed at one stage with hail coming down and thinking well it's a tragedy but I suppose under a tin roof things sound a lot worse than what they are," he said. "The crop spread over the few farms wasn't significantly impacted but unfortunately we've got some neighbours who I think are facing a very devastating year. "The storms have been so localised in their intensity and their impact so I think that's leading to a very patchy performance across the area." Mr Starkey is still feeling optimistic about the harvest and predicts an average to above average crop this year. "It's fortune teller sort of stuff," he said. Source - http://www.abc.net.au

India - Lack of cooperation between state govts hurdle in PMFBY implementation

The lack of cooperation of the state governments is posing a huge challenge in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). This was stated by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, minister of state for agriculture and farmers’ welfare, at the national conference on accelerating agriculture insurance, organised in New Delhi by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Shekhawat said that agriculture being a state subject, the states would have to come on board to iron out the glitches in the implementation of the scheme. He advised FICCI to conduct brainstorming sessions on the subject in the states and come forward with recommendations on ways to bring the laggard states on par with the good performers to derive the full potential benefits of the scheme. The national conference sought to provide a platform for a candid dialogue between state governments, the private sector and farmer representatives on the present agriculture insurance policies, and to discuss how PMFBY, which was was conceived by the present government to provide comprehensive agriculture insurance in the country, was expected to unfold in future. The minister said that the crop insurance scheme seeks to provide umbrella insurance coverage to the farmers from sowing to harvesting, and for the first time, the farmers had realised its benefits, buffeted as they are with the uncertainties of the market and weather conditions. PMFBY was launched from Kharif 2016 by the Government of India and was built on the lines of the One Nation, One Scheme theme. The scheme is more farmer-friendly in comparison to earlier versions with simplified provisions and a reduced premium. The farmers’ premium has been reduced for all food and oilseeds crops and kept at a maximum of 1.5 per cent for Rabi, two per cent for Kharif and five per cent for annual horticultural/commercial crops. This has resulted in increase in coverage of area and crops. Ashish Kumar Bhutani, joint secretary, ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare, pointed out that while the PMFBY had resulted in a 74 per cent increase in the sum insured in 2016-17 and coverage under the scheme had risen to 50 per cent of the gross cropped area, a number of challenges still remained in its implementation. For instance, many states were unable to conduct crop-cutting experiments. There was a lack of historical data on the insured which was jacking up premium, thereby impinging on the resources of the Centre and the states, and there was delay in the release of subsidy by states. Bhutani said that it was also imperative to evolve a focused and structured dispute resolution mechanism in this regard. “With a view to implementing the scheme end-to-end, the Centre has created a new portal, which will be online in the next seven to eight days. It will act as a platform for addressing all the relevant issues, including the processing of claims and the delay in the provisions of subsidies by states. Alongside this, the Central team to oversee and monitor the scheme was being strengthened,” he added. Accelerating Agriculture Insurance On the occasion, Shekhawat released a FICCI-Skymet knowledge paper titled Accelerating Agriculture Insurance and an ICRIER working paper on Crop Insurance in India: Key Issues and Way Forward. The former said, “Indian agriculture is dependent on monsoon in such a way that any deviation in the onset or departure of monsoon largely affects agricultural productivity in the entire Indian subcontinent, leaving farmers in the lurch.” “The vagaries of monsoon still decide the fate of farmers across the country, especially in the drought-prone regions. It is estimated that over 50 per cent of the total population of the country is engaged in agriculture and a majority of them are still dependent on monsoonal rain for irrigation,” it said. “The Indian monsoon has a direct relationship with the global climate change, which is evidently showing impact across the country in forms like the early and the late arrival of monsoon, temporal fluctuation in the onset of seasons, unprecedented rainfall and associated phenomena,” the paper added. “Huge variations in the climatic conditions make it challenging to tackle the menace of climate change, especially related to key environmental parameters, such as temperature and rainfall,” it said. “There has been growing consensus among climatologists that global temperatures and precipitation patterns are changing. The last three decades have seen a gradual drop in the quantum of precipitation during the monsoon,” the paper added. “The remarkable increase in temperatures and the decrease in the amount of rainfall has already started hampering crop production in the country. In addition to this, the number of rainy days has also reduced, with the rainfall averages remaining the same, thereby causing uncertainties,” it said. “Another impact of climate change hampering the crop production is the increasing incidents of El Nino and La Nina, which have been having a direct impact on the monsoonal precipitation. El Nino has been proven to have influenced global temperatures besides global warming. The worst part about both these phenomenon is that their earliest indication comes very late,” the paper added. “In recent years, the erratic and unpredictable behaviour of monsoon, accentuated by climate change has caused extensive financial losses in terms of crop failures, damage to agricultural infrastructures, loss of lives and properties, etc., due to natural and manmade disasters and destruction to environment and farmlands. This has aggravated food insecurity in the country,” it said. The paper added that in order to combat this challenge, there is need to adopt a strategy which may provide a comprehensive solution to farming communities for safeguarding agricultural productivity. Crop insurance is one such area which is gaining momentum in the contemporary scenario. This is considered as the best option to transfer the cost of potential losses due to disaster or emergency situations. By adopting crop insurance, farmers can also leverage technology and data analysis to monitor, manage and reduce the impact of those risks. The government has taken several initiatives for the overall sustainable development of farmers and cultivators to protect livelihoods and to enhance their agricultural productivity. These may enhance the credit flow to farmers and expand the area of crop insurance and irrigation coverage, specifically in the era of changing climate. PMFBY is one such initiative of crop insurance launched by the Government of India, which is a comprehensive scheme of insurance coverage against crop failures. The government aims to provide crop insurance for PMFBY to 50 per cent of the total cropped area during 2018-19. Digital revolution is a well-established concept among the contemporary agricultural communities. Technology has always been an integral part of agriculture, which has been highly successful in intriguing farmers towards better farming practices, and thereby to crop insurance. Even one of the significant highlights of PMFBY is to adopt modern technological innovations. Agriculture is a highly localised activity, and therefore, information must be tailored to specific conditions. Thus, staying abreast with the modern technological innovations like digital sensor-based weather forecasting, geographic information system- (GIS) based crop estimation, drone-based surveillance, etc. can maximise the benefits of crop insurance scheme for farmers as well as agricultural output. Technology interventions play a significant role in agri-risk insurance in the country. The prospective areas where these interventions can inculcate a new culture of development and resilience at all levels are insurance coverage, sowing risk, crop mapping, price fixing, localised risk coverage, crop-cutting experiment, crop failure and damage assessment and disaster risk management. Technology-based information products and services are important and relevant inputs for the above-mentioned areas in better planning to cover various risks in agricultural productivity. The weather-based crop insurance scheme is also a remarkable insurance solution that is greatly contributing to promote digital revolution in the agriculture sector. This provides protection against crops and agri-losses resulting from weather adversities. In this scheme, the crop losses are assessed on the basis of actual weather data received from the approved automatic weather stations installed at pre-defined places in different locations. Major weather risks arising out of parameters like rainfall, relative humidity, temperature, wind, etc. are covered under the ambit of this scheme. With the gaining momentum of technological interventions in the agricultural sector, the risk related to agriculture has also increased exponentially. Thus, there is a need to adopt a well-structured strategy to combat the emerging challenge of agri-risk in the country. Source - http://www.fnbnews.com

India - Skymet Weather evaluates crop losses in Maharashtra through drone

Indian weather is often hard to predict and in such a scenario, accurate and timely weather prediction is always a boon for the agricultural sector that holds the maximum share of engagement in the Indian economy. Weather and Agriculture are dependent on each other. Untimely rains and related activities often wreak havoc over the agricultural sector of the country. Recently, Maharashtra, particularly, the Vidarbha region bore the brunt of the untimely weather. On February 11, a series of rain and hailstorm activities resulted in massive crop damage. The farmland consisting of crops such as Orange, Bananas, Wheat, Gram, Maize, and Lemon suffered major losses. Skymet Weather Services Private Limited with the help of a drone analyzed crop damages occurred due to hailstorms in Buldhana district of Vidarbha region. Further, Skymet Weather and Maharashtra Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). According to this, Skymet Weather has installed AWS, Automatic Weather System in Sonala district of the region. This would help in fetching accurate and timely weather updates to avoid the risk of crop losses. This major step taken by Skymet Weather and the Maharashtra Government is a fruitful step in minimizing crop losses and creating flexibility towards the ever-changing weather risks in the agricultural sector by giving an accurate short-term forecast. Source - https://www.skymetweather.com

Canada - Farmers face tough choice as clubroot invades canola fields

In Canada, rapeseed, better known in North America as canola, is a $26 billion industry. Grown mostly in the western prairie provinces, it's one of the nation's top moneymaking crops. But there's major problem looming over Canada's canola farmers. In 2003, a fungus that produces a disorder known as clubroot was discovered in Alberta. Clubroot has been around for centuries, especially in Europe; it is a swiftly-spreading fungus that causes large swells on the plants roots, and it’s most common among the brassica family of plants, which includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, and canola. Clubroot, as a disease, sucks all the water and nutrients from the plant’s normal operations and redirects it to those big protuberances, which means the plant has fewer resources to grow strong and produce seeds. Today, the clubroot fungus is widespread throughout Alberta’s and Manitoba’s canola fields. This is potentially disastrous for two main reasons. First, clubroot fungus produces hundreds of millions of spores, which can spread very quickly. It’s estimated that yield loss is roughly half of the percentage of infected plants. In other words, if a farmer has an infection rate of 50 percent, that farmer will lose roughly 25 percent in yield. That’s a massive problem. Even worse, clubroot is incredibly adaptable and hard to eradicate. Changing the pH of the soil with lime can have some beneficial effects, but actual eradication is expensive and uncertain. Fungicide-resistant varieties of canola produced by big-Ag companies like Monsanto tend to be effective only briefly as the fungus quickly develops resistance. According to scientists, the best strategy is unfortunately not ideal—or even tenable—for many current canola farmers. Developing a crop rotation where canola is only planted every third or fourth year can effectively quarantine the fungus, preventing it from spreading. But that means farmers have to switch from the very lucrative canola crop to something like wheat or barley, which brings in far less money. And even worse, the fungus problem has driven up canola prices, so a farmer may be inclined to take a short-term view, plant a ton of canola, and sell whatever survives at a large profit—while allowing the fungus to spread. Source - https://modernfarmer.com

New Zealand - Stink bug invasion could cost billions

An invasion of the brown marmorated stink bug - the pest discovered recently in three Japanese car shipments - would devastate New Zealand's fruit, vegetable and wine industries, destroying more than $4 billion of export value and costing thousands of jobs, according to a new report from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER). Over 100 of the stink bugs, which originate in Asia but have spread to the US and Europe, were found last week by Ministry of Primary Industries biosecurity staff in three car carriers that arrived at the dock in Auckland. But this is just the latest disturbing infestation. Border biosecurity patrols have discovered previously unheard of quantities of the imported beetles over the last two years. Of course, stink bugs are nothing new in New Zealand. Most gardeners will have come across our native bright green, shield-shaped stink bugs, which suck sap from your veges and give out a nasty smell when squashed. These insects, often called shield bugs are pretty harmless. Not so their mottled brown Asian cousins. A soon-to-be released report commissioned by Horticulture New Zealand from NZIER suggests that if the brown marmorated stink bug becomes established in New Zealand, real GDP could fall by a minimum of $3.6 billion over the next 20 years, and horticultural exports could fall by $4.2 billion a year. Chief executive of Horticulture New Zealand Mike Chapman is unequivocal - the insect must be kept out of New Zealand. "If this stink bug arrives in New Zealand, it's going to devastate our horticulture, it's going to devastate our food production, it's going to devastate our rural communities, it's going to infest our homes across the country, and not just rural homes, urban homes. "It's going to take out people's vegetable gardens, it's going to attack their flower gardens. This is one really nasty bug." Some farmers have compared the potential impact of the stink bug to that of foot and mouth disease outbreaks in animals; Mr Chapman likens it to the impact of the bacteria PSA, which devastated kiwifruit growers and workers. Only this infestation would be worse, he says, because it wouldn't be restricted to one industry, but would hit fruit and vegetable producers across the board. "It just eats everything. It is a very hungry little bug. It has been sweeping across the United States; it's swept through Europe. We are talking about long term effects here. We are talking about billions of dollars. We are talking about rural communities." NZ Winegrowers biosecurity and emergency response manager Dr Edwin Massey says it isn't clear why marmorated stink bug numbers have skyrocketed in countries like Japan, the US and Italy. But the more bugs multiply overseas, the more they hitchhike to New Zealand. Between 2014 and 2016, MPI staff found stink bugs 55 times at the borders. Now it's far more. "In terms of interceptions, we are well into the hundreds now, with that accounting for thousands of bugs. Most of those are dead, but this year there has also been an increase in the number of finds of a mixture of both dead and alive bugs, which is concerning." In the US, some farmers have reported crop losses of up to 90 percent when stink bugs move in. Source - https://www.radionz.co.nz

Kenya - Equity Bank to loan farmers Sh20b in new drive

Equity Bank has committed to lend Sh20 billion to 2,000 farmers in the next five years. This follows the completion of a pilot training programme that saw the bank train and finance 2,400 farmers to the tune of Sh600 million. Chief Executive James Mwangi said the bank would use its Equity Foundation as well as 32 partners to upscale the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Acceleration Project that is aimed at helping transform medium-scale farmers into commercial farmers to lower their risk of defaulting on loans. Mwangi spoke at the end of the project’s three-year piloting that was implemented in conjunction with the Dutch Embassy in Nairobi. He said the pilot programme had set the stage to bring on board more farmers by helping them gain financial literacy. “The pilot phase has been able to demonstrate what needs to be done to transform subsistence farming into commercial agriculture,” he said. Farmers under this programme were trained on, among other things, bookkeeping, farm management, soil testing, taming post-harvest losses, crop timing and marketing of their produce. “We picked on medium-scale farmers since the Government has concentrated on high-scale farmers while the private sector is keen on small-scale,” said Mwangi. Source - https://www.standardmedia.co.ke

New Zealand - Apple orchard near Nelson left absolutely ruined by Gita floodwaters

A large part of a Riwaka apple orchard has been ruined by floodwaters from Cyclone Gita on Tuesday and Golden Bay Fruit manager Evan Heywood says the really upsetting part is they won't have another crop for up to seven years. Mr Heywood said in the whole rain event there was about 230mm to fall and he thinks probably 100 of that fell in three hours at the end of the day after it had been raining all day. "And that's what has caused this torrent of water that over flowed and debris that came with it," he said. "It was the rivers and creeks that were blocked and then the water spilled out. It wasn't the Riwaka River itself but some of the creeks going into it. And the water came over and made a new path straight through here." Mr Heywood said the block he was standing in is the worst affected "and it's probably one of our better blocks and there's a full crop there". "It had hail net on which I don't think helped. And that's been pretty much completely flattened, probably 80 per cent flattened. So we can't get any value or salvage out of that, so we have to push it into a big heap and get rid of it some other way," he said. He said another block is partially collapsed, "but the rest of the block out here have got debris and silt down pretty much every row that we need to try and get out before we start harvesting, which is only a couple of weeks away". "The really upsetting part is we won't have another crop here for another five, six or seven years, or back to where it was," Mr Heywood said. "So it's not just the losses this year. We have to replant and wait for those trees to start producing to the same level as these ones that we've lost." Mr Heywood said they're still assessing the total loss. Source - https://www.tvnz.co.nz

USA - Wyoming reports sheep and lamb losses

Wyoming sheep and lamb producers lost 34,000 animals to weather, predators, disease and other causes during 2017, representing a total value of $6.31 million, according to a survey conducted by USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Mountain Regional Field Office. This study was undertaken at the request of the Wyoming Business Council, Agribusiness Division who also provided funding. The total number of sheep and lambs lost was 3,500 head less than last year and the total value of inventory lost was 7 percent less than a year ago. The January 1, 2017, inventory was 360,000 head. The lamb crop for 2017 was 235,000 head. Lambs lost before docking during 2017 was 15,000 head. Sheep and lamb deaths for 2017 amounted to 5.6 percent of the 2017 sheep and lamb supply (inventory plus lamb crop plus lambs lost before docking, 610,000 head). The number of sheep and lambs lost to all predators totaled 17,800 head, up 1,300 head from last year. Lamb losses by all predators amounted to 14,100 head, up 5 percent from last year. The number of sheep lost to all predators totaled 3,700 head, up 600 head from a year ago. Predators caused an estimated $3.26 million in losses in 2017, up 11 percent from the previous year. Losses due to predators amounted to 2.9 percent of the 2017 sheep and lamb supply and 52 percent of all sheep and lamb deaths. Coyotes remained the largest predator for both sheep and lambs. Coyotes accounted for 70 percent of the predator-caused losses and 36 percent of all death losses in the state. The value of losses attributed to coyotes was $2.28 million. The total value of non-predatory losses was $3.05 million in 2017, compared with $3.85 million in 2016. Non-predatory losses accounted for 48 percent of all losses. The largest non-predatory cause of losses was due to weather conditions at 6,200 head. Sheep lost to non-predatory factors totaled 5,300 head, down 17 percent from 2016. Non-predatory lamb losses came in at 10,900 head, 3,700 head less than a year ago. Lambs lost to all unknown causes totaled 2,600 head, compared with 4,200 head last year. Unknown causes claimed 900 sheep, compared with 1,300 head last year. The sheep and lamb survey utilized multi-frame sampling procedures. The survey involved drawing a random sample from a list of livestock producers maintained by the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Wyoming Field Office. In addition, sheep producers living in a selected sample of area segments were interviewed. This procedure assures complete coverage of sheep producers by accounting for ranchers/farmers who may not be on the list. Sheep and lamb loss estimates published by the USDA include sheep losses for the entire year, but include only those lamb losses that occur after docking. This special report also includes an estimate of lambs lost before docking. Source - http://www.hpj.com