Agroinsurance

Australia - Risk of a destroyed crops should be spread says agribusiness consultant

Despite the huge risk of growing a crop each year, only a fraction of farmers take out appropriate insurance. The multi-peril crop insurance cover is very young and a handful of companies offer it. Some companies have made big payouts for failed crops, which is unsustainable unless more farmers come on board to spread the risks across the regions. Jay Horton, an agribusiness consultant with Strategis Partners is studying crop insurance as a Research Fellow at the Business School of the University of Sydney. He said given the failure of many farmers to take up the insurance, in 2015 — it was 1 per cent — there needed to be a new approach to spread the risk. "Australia is one of the riskiest agricultural country in the world in terms of agricultural production; second to Uruguay. "We have to be very good at risk management in all of its forms and we could do better. "We should understand that farm production risk is not just the farmer's problem, it's a supply chain problem, a systemic problem. "If the farmers don't do well, the input suppliers don't do well, the buyers of grain and livestock also don't do well." Jay Horton said supply chain partners to the farm enterprise needed to become involved. "What if the input suppliers were to say to the farmer customers 'No need to pay in full for the seed we supplied you this year.' "Or the buyers of crops could say, 'You weren't able to supply the target volume, we will give you an income to cover this year's costs anyway!'" He said banks could waive interest on a loan, and farmland owners leasing land to young farmers could reduce rent for a year. That would be backed up with an insurance policy and risk management and is then simply another service that is offered. Mr Horton said the emergence of big data, from weather stations, markets and on-farm operations, about prices, soil fertility and moisture, would help to provide objective information. "Insurance reduces the likelihood that the company will have to raise costly external capital at the wrong time." Index insurance Only a hand full of companies in Australia are offering multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI), but even fewer offer the alternative, index insurance. MPCI has to be taken out at the beginning of the season, at the point of sowing the crop, and will cover the loss of revenue or yield from a poor season. By contrast, index insurance is taken out later, and for single events that a grower fears will downgrade the quality or yield. Jonathan Barratt set up the index insurer Celsius Pro that has grown steadily and has written $330 million worth of cover this past year. Index insurance covers for triggers; rainfall, temperature, flood which can be verified by the weather bureau data. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has produced a new service that provides objective confirmation of a weather event, heavy rain or hot days, by interpolative data, after developing a 5km scale grid across Australia. "This year we had payouts after big deluges of rain in north-west NSW, " Mr Barratt said. "Those same growers decided not to take wet harvest cover, but had cover for a deluge. "The BOM came in and said 'Hey, it's going to be very wet'. He said the smart farmer took up rain cover and was paid out. "Then we had even smarter farmers, particularly with chickpeas, who said 'It cost me $500 to put in, the price is currently $1000'." They calculated that if there was a deluge they would lose the whole crop. "So they took our wet harvest cover, because they realised, 'I'm not going to lose $1000 per tonne just because it rains". Mr Barratt said MPCI needed to be modified because there was a lack of continuity of product, and a limited number of underwriters willing to take the risk after big payouts several years in a row. "Index insurance has any number of five up to 10 underwriters. Each one vies for the business and we can shop around for the best one for the grower. "That spreads the risk among reinsurers and it's fast. "If it rains, and the BOM says it rains, the grower gets paid," Mr Barratt said. Source - http://www.abc.net.au

USA - USDA examines how wealth and savings affect crop insurance decisions

Farmers use crop insurance to protect themselves against risk — primarily against crop failure and low market prices. In the United States, participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's federal crop insurance program has grown steadily since the mid-1990s to become the single largest individual program providing financial support to producers under the 2014 farm bill. The growth in crop insurance programs — both in the United States and developing countries — has been driven in part by the premium subsidies provided by the government. In a new report from the USDA's Economic Research Service, researchers Katie Farrin, Mario Miranda and Erik O'Donoghue examined how a farmer's financial situation — particularly in terms of savings and wealth — may affect not only their coverage level election, but even whether or not to carry crop insurance at all. One of the study's general findings was that the demand for insurance will decline as the interest rate on savings rises. Similarly, farmers will save more and insure less, as insurance premium rates increase. However, an exception to these general findings would be for those farm households who are less wealthy. The study also found that the demand for crop insurance, when examined over multiple years, is primarily driven by the farmer's financial wealth rather than one's attitude toward risk. Therefore, the purchasing of insurance and the choice of coverage levels are heavily determined by the producer's income and savings. The demand for crop insurance was also found to be reduced at both the lower and higher levels of farm wealth. However, the reasons differ depending on what side of the spectrum the farm household falls. High-wealth farmers may not purchase insurance at all and may instead use savings to self-insure. By comparison, households with low wealth may not purchase crop insurance simply because they cannot afford it. The researchers also found that farmers do not make production decisions based solely on what would be best considering the current crop season. Instead, they choose to manage their farms in a way that helps them earn the most value over the lifetime of the farm, with the demand for crop insurance dropping the longer the farm's expected time horizon. When households can save over many years, their insurance decisions will depend not only on time, but also a household's wealth and history of farm income. Even among farm households with the same level of wealth, predictions about insurance decisions will differ depending on whether a household expects to generate farm income for two crop seasons or many. An analysis of existing USDA data also shows that insurance and savings are substitutes, unless a household's annual farm income is relatively low. In general, greater savings result in lower demand for crop insurance among U.S. crop farmers. Still another finding from the study was that operators with higher amounts of debt are more likely to purchase insurance, perhaps to avoid falling further into debt should a weather event affect production in a given season. USDA survey to measure financial health of dairy producers Beginning in January, representatives from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service will visit dairy farms across the nation to collect data for the final phase of the 2016 agricultural resource management survey. This annual survey gathers in-depth information on production practices, costs, and the financial well-being of American farm families producing selected commodities on a rotational basis. This year, the survey places added focus on conventional and organic dairy operations. The last time that the dairy sector was the subject of this annual survey was in 2010, which focused only on conventional dairy operations. The results from the 2016 survey will help USDA and other policymakers analyze the impacts of the new Dairy Margin Protection Program that was authorized by the 2014 farm bill, and launched in 2015. All dairy farmers selected to participate in the 2016 survey will be notified by a postcard. Following receipt, trained enumerators will make appointments and visit the participating farms to gather the information through personal interviews that will begin in late January and continue through early April. FSA committee election results announced Ballots for the Farm Service Agency's county committee election were mailed to all eligible voters in November. Local offices recently tabulated all returned ballots and have announced the following election results. In Chippewa County, Lane Schwitters of Raymond was elected to his first term. In Kandiyohi County, John Cunningham of Atwater was re-elected to his second term. In Meeker County, Tom Walsh of Litchfield was re-elected for a second term. In Pope County, Jane Reents of Villard was re-elected to her third term. In Renville County, Orlynn Henga of Sacred Heart was re-elected to a third term. In Swift County, Jess Berge of Sunburg was elected to his first term. In Yellow Medicine County, David Luepke of Belview was re-elected to his second term. All elected candidates began serving a three-year term Jan. 1. There are nearly 7,800 county committee members serving the 2,124 Farm Service Agency offices located nationwide. Committees typically consist of three to five members that make many important decisions regarding the local administration of federal farm programs. Source - http://www.wctrib.com

Australia - Difficult year ahead for horticulture

The first half of 2017 is looking to be a challenging time for winegrape and horticulture industries in SA, with many growers still recovering from unfavorable weather, including hail and floods. The Wine Grape Council of SA executive officer, Peter Hackworth, stated that he predicts a hike in price for grapes in 2017 after the hail that hit Riverland in November cut production by 10%. “That will probably mean the crop will be down in 2017 and likely to be down in 2018 because the following year’s bud will be affected by that extended cold.” Last year was one of mixed performance in the horticulture industry, according to the Horticulture Coalition of SA chair, Susie Green, with 2017 likely to be similar. “Apples and pears have been impacted by storms so I don’t think we’ll see production as high as in 2016. In other sectors of horticulture it’s likely to be a good year – in areas which haven’t been hit with bad weather.” Ms Green said the overall value of the almond industry continued to grow in 2016, while tomatoes, potatoes and citrus also performed well. Source - stockandland.com.au

India - Ministers inspect drought-hit agricultural lands

Minister for Public Works Department, Highways and Minor Ports Edappadi K. Palaniswami along with Collector V. Sampath inspected agricultural fields in Omalur, Mettur, Edappadi, Sankari and Veerapandi areas. Compensation TheMinister assessed the extent of loss suffered by the farmers and assured them that irrespective of whether their crops were covered under insurance or not, all the farmers whose crops were damaged would get compensation. He said that failure of North-East Monsoon led to the current situation and added that all farmers will be compensated. He visited fields where tomato, pulses, maize and other crops remained withered due to absence of water. V. Paneerselvam, MP, MLAs and others accompanied him. Namakkal In Namakkal, Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise P. Thangamani along with Minister for Social Welfare and Nutritious Noon Meal Programme Dr. V. Saroja inspected the crops that were affected by severe drought in the district on Saturday. Accompanied by Collector M. Asia Mariam and monitoring officer, the Ministers visited fields of the affected farmers in Tiruchengodu and other areas in the district. Source - http://www.thehindu.com

USA - Align crop insurance with conservation

Every farmer with crop insurance knows they need to comply with the USDA Good Farming Practices (GFP) standard in order to maintain their coverage. Under guidelines established by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), farmers must undertake all the “generally recognized practices” that will give their crops the best chance to reach maturity and be harvested. Up until last week, however, many best practices widely recognized and used by conservation-oriented farmers were not necessarily considered good farming practices by RMA. …The newly revised RMA Good Farming Practices Handbook … includes an important addition to ensure that Natural Resources Conservation Service practices are also considered GFP. The new handbook states: “NRCS Conservation Practices will generally be recognized by agricultural experts for the area as considered good farming practices.” Therefore, “The use of NRCS Conservation Practices will have no impact on federal crop insurance coverage.” That is where the good news ends, however. The provision is weakened by three qualifications in the handbook that could make the new, more reasonable approach far less effective than it should be in spurring greater adoption of conservation measures. First, RMA will accept NRCS conservation practices only if the “practice does not negatively impact the insured crop’s ability to make normal progress toward maturity.” In plain terms, this suggests that in the eyes of the crop insurance industry and the agency that funds it, conservation practices illegitimately can get in the way of maximizing yield. Second, RMA will require that following good conservation does not hold back the crop from reaching its yield target. In other words, practicing good conservation can be grounds for a farmer losing coverage if the crop insurance industry thinks that a particular conservation practice could theoretically hold back yields, or if they can actually demonstrate that it did. Third, the new provision also provides for the possibility that some NRCS-sanctioned conservation practices can be determined to be “an uninsurable practice under the terms and conditions of the individual crop insurance policy.” The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is very supportive of RMA addressing this issue. The long-awaited change puts RMA on the path toward ensuring that farmers who engage in soil and water conservation practices will not be penalized through their crop insurance. This is sound policy for two reasons. First, as a matter of policy and government spending, we as a nation encourage farmers to adopt the very best and highest level of conservation achievable. … Second, rewarding advanced conservation should be at the very core of a good government approach to risk management. … Sadly, it seems that RMA is still hedging its bets on conservation. The agency is still taking a short-term view, adding unnecessary caveats and leaving the door open to excluding specific conservation practices under certain crop insurance policies. These loopholes in the new policy mean farmers are still being forced to think twice about adopting good conservation, thereby diminishing the value of the new policy of recognizing conservation practices as good farming practices. We at NSAC are still waiting for the time when these two USDA agencies will speak with one voice to farmers rather than pulling them in two conflicting directions. The new RMA policy is a small step in the right direction, but there is more to be done. Source - http://www.iowafarmertoday.com

India - Drought, monsoon failure hit standing crops in 42,943 acres

Standing crops in 42,943 acres were affected owing to acute drought and failure of monsoon. The State and Central Governments will make certain announcements about relief measures on January 11 or 12, said Minister for Forests C. Seenivasan. Talking to press persons after inspecting withered crops in the district here on Saturday, he said that drought was acute and crop damage very high. Already, the State had witnessed flood damage owing to a recent cyclone which devastated the northern districts. All schemes executed by the late Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, would continue. Equal importance was being given to protect wild life also, he pointed out. While presiding over the review meeting, Higher Education Secretary A. Karthik said 113 out of 130 village panchayats were affected in the district. The worst-affected were the horticulture and rainfed crops. The officials should visit rest of the villages and submit their full report within a day or two, he advised. Collector N. Venkatachalam said that paddy crop was raised in 2,761 acres out of total 14,707 acres of which 261 acres were affected. With no water for irrigation, hundreds of paddy growers did not raise the second crop and had left the land barren. A total of 20,271 acres of major rainfed crops including 8,063 acres of maize, 3,369 acres of sorghum, 1,238 of red gram (Toor), 4,014 acres of black gram 1,384 acres of green gram, 1,860 acres of horse gram and 7,000 acres of oil seeds and other crops, he added. Andipatti MLA Thangathamizh Selvan appealed to construct a dam across the Vaigai river and store the river water in 30 tanks to irrigate the dry crops in grey area of Andipatti block. Such a measure would improve the groundwater table also, he added. The Minister assured him to take the project to the notice of the government. Farmers at Veppampatti showed the damaged banana crops and briefed about the damage to standing crops. They said that loss per acre was around Rs.70,000. They appealed to the government to give compensation for crop loss quickly. With no livelihood activities, farm labourers had been struggling for survival, they added. The team had inspected S.S. Puram, Venkatachalampuram in Andipatti block, Silamalai Meenakshipuram and Boodhipuram in Bodi block, Sindhalaserry and Bomminmaickanpatti and Ednapuli in Periyakulam block. Source - http://www.thehindu.com

Canada - Three million acres of Manitoba soybeans by 2022?

If the trendline continues soybean acres in Manitoba could easily top three million acres in just five more years — but don’t necessarily bet the farm on it. That’s the message Manitoba Agriculture pulse crops specialist Dennis Lange brought to the recent Manitoba Agronomists’ Conference on Dec. 14 at the University of Manitoba. He foresees the potential for greater competition from other crops and the reality of growing soybeans in areas on the frontier for the crop as possible factors tempering the runaway growth of recent years. “We are going to be looking at competition from other crops because we only have 9-1/2 million acres of cropland in Manitoba, so those acres have to come from somewhere,” Lange said. “To get another million acres we are going to have to see another big shift in these crops as well. “Are we going to have tighter rotations if we have two million acres of soybeans? What about volunteer control of such things as (Roundup Ready) canola? That’s always an issue with growers.” Spring wheat and canola acres vary every year, but not a lot. And smaller-acreage crops don’t have many acres to lose, Lange noted. Red spring acres have been stable and feed wheat and Prairie spring wheat acres, which are relatively small, have jumped in recent years. But soybeans have likely taken acres from winter wheat, which dropped 75 per cent to 134,000 acres in 2016 compared to 2012. Some canola acres may have also gone to soybeans. In 2014 and 2015 canola acres fell below two million, but gained back ground in 2016, coming in at 3.2 million. Soybeans are a long-season, heat-loving crop and Manitoba hasn’t had an early killing fall frost for at least six years, Lange said, something that has encouraged growers to take on the risk, but eventually it will catch up to them. He showed the meeting a photo of a green soybean field, taken Sept. 23, 2013 near Roblin, to illustrate his point. “Some years, you’re going to have a frost then,” he said. “That concerns me when you have soybeans that green at that stage. Growers were picking the right varieties, but it was very cool during the growing season and they had some good rainfall and that kept things a little greener longer. “That may slow progression down to some degree to hit that three million acres if we do get an early killing frost.” In 2004 a frost in August resulted in a province-wide average soybean yield of eight bushels an acre. In 2005 soybean acres fell 41 per cent to just under 96,000. Top crop? Lange thinks 2.7 million acres is more likely to be the longer-term average for Manitoba soybeans. That in itself would be remarkable. But three million acres, which would require an 82 per cent increase from 2016’s 1.65 million acres, fits the pattern of this runaway crop. Soybean plantings have increased every year for the last 10, including a 90 per cent jump in the last five years, based on Manitoba crop insurance data. If soybeans hit three million acres it’s likely to be the province’s biggest-acreage crop overtaking canola and Canada Western Red Spring wheat, which came in at 3.2 million and 2.2 million acres, respectively in 2016. For several years running canola, red spring wheat and soybeans have been the top three Manitoba crops in that order. This coming year Manitoba farmers could plant a record two million acres of soybeans — an increase of 350,000 acres or 21 per cent following a record average provincial yield, estimated in late December at 42 bushels an acre. The 2016 record exceeds the old one of 39 bushels set in 2013, and repeated in 2015, by eight per cent. High yields in combination with relatively good prices and soybeans’ reputation for handling stress, including excess moisture, continue to make it an attractive crop. Glyphosate-resistant varieties make weed control easy in most cases, although farmers need to be wary of herbicide-resistant weeds, Lange said in an interview last month. Earlier-maturing varieties have also helped soybeans expand west and north, he said. There were 78,000 acres of pedigreed soybeans planted in 2016 producing enough seed for three million acres, Lange said. If Manitobans plant two million acres of soybeans in 2017, the acreage over the next five years will only have to increase an average of 200,000 a year before reaching three million. The previous five-year annual average increase was 218,000 acres. All farmers have to do is stay on the same trend to reach three million acres by 2022. Soybeans started off in the Red River Valley. In 2011, 95 per cent of Manitoba’s 550,000 acres of soybeans were grown there. In 2015, 61 per cent of Manitoba’s 1.33 million acres of soybeans were grown in the ‘traditional’ area and 39 per cent in the rest of agro-Manitoba. Source - http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/

Rwanda - Year Review - How the Agriculture Sector Fared in 2016

A lot went on in the agriculture and livestock sector in 2016 - the sector where about 70 percent of Rwandans derive their livelihood. On average, agriculture contributes about 33 percent to Rwanda's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2007 and 2014, as per the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). In the financial year 2014-2015, the sector generated Rwf1,440 billion in revenues compared to Rwf1,512 billion in 2015-2016. From the most prolonged drought in the country to new fertiliser and seed distribution model, to (Private Sector Federation) donating Rwf1.1 billion in support for Girinka - One Cow per Poor Family - Programme; in this article, we present 10 major events that marked the agriculture sector in 2016. Longest drought hit the country, mainly the Eastern Province Almost the entire country felt the effects of the longest drought in the last 60 years. But, the Eastern Province was hit the most. For instance, more than 47,300 households in Eastern Province bore the blunt of such drought which also caused crops to wither, hence resulting in crop failure and threatening food security. The situation necessitated Government intervention in terms of food distribution to the affected families that had no harvest for two seasons since September 2015. Trucks were used to fetch water for cattle. But some water sources dried up, and some cows died owing to prolonged drought. An assessment conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) in Eastern Province showed that between September 2015 and June 2016, drought affected crops on at least 16,119 hectares of land in Kayonza District, 6,619 hectares in Nyagatare District and 750 hectares in Kirehe District. To mitigate the drought impact and ensure preparedness and resilience against climate change effects, Dr. Théogène Rutagwenda, the director-general for animal resources at the Ministry of Agriculture, cited several Government initiatives. These include construction of valley dams, whereby six have already been built in Nyagatare District, six in Kayonza District and one in Gatsibo District. Each dam has capacity of 40,000 cubic metres (m3) of water for cattle. Other interventions are the cultivation of drought resistant forage for livestock's consumption, and irrigation. An estimated 19,000 hectares of land are expected to be irrigated from this financial year through 2018, which include 15,000 hectares for marshland and 4,000 for hillside, according to Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB). About 45,000 hectares are already under irrigation in the country. Rwanda signs Rwf52.1 billion dairy project deal with IFAD On November 4, 2016, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Rwanda signed an agreement for Rwanda Dairy Development project, a new initiative that is expected to improve the livelihoods of over 100,000 smallholder farmers and generate opportunities for other actors in the country's dairy sector. The project will cover 12 districts and involve an investment of $65.1 million, which includes a $43.6 million IFAD loan, a $1.1 million IFAD grant, a $4 million grant from Heifer International and contributions from the Government of Rwanda, the private sector and project beneficiaries. In a statement IFAD said the new project will improve milk quantity and quality, farmers' processing capacity through promotion of climate smart technologies and practices, and support the development of dairy cooperatives to benefit from market driven production, processing and trading of improved dairy products. It will also help strengthen an inclusive policy and institutional framework for the sector. PSF donates Rwf1.1 billion to Girinka On December 6, 2016, the Private Sector Federation (PSF) donated Rwf1.1 billion as contribution to the promotion of Girinka Programme. PSF Chairperson, Benjamin Gasamagera said that the move was in line with the organisation's target to offer 4,000 modern cows to vulnerable families under Girinka Programme, so as to contribute to their graduation from poverty. About 260,000 vulnerable households have received cows against the 350,000 targeted households by 2017, according to October 2016 figures from Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB). Lease of Kigali Urban Fisheries Centre The Government leased management and operationalisation of Urban Fisheries Products Promotion Centre, a move officials say will ensure proper handling of fish produce, market access and, most importantly, address the issue of lack of enough nutritious fish feeds, which has been a major concern for the sector. The development followed Cabinet meeting that on September 13, 2016, approved the Lease for the Management and operationalisation of that Centre located in the Kigali Special Economic Zone by AQUAHORT Export Ltd/AEL. Under the 10-year lease deal, AQUAHORT Export Ltd/AEL, fish farmers are expected to benefit from on-credit feed from the factory set up by the company through an agreement requiring farmers to supply it with fish. The fish feed factory worth Rwf300 million is expected to have capacity to produce five tonnes of feeds per day. National fish production is estimated at 28,450 tonnes currently, representing 25 percent of the target of (112,000 tonnes) by 2017, as shown by figures from MINAGRI. Rwanda imports 15,000 tonnes of fish per year, according figures from RAB. New inputs (seeds and fertilisers) distribution model adopted On September 13, 2016, Cabinet approved the New Inputs (seeds & fertilisers) Distribution Model under the Government Subsidy Scheme. The move, according to farmers and other agricultural players, will help curtail malpractices in the agricultural input distribution chain. Indeed, farmers and agriculture players contended that some fertilisers were previously illegitimately exported to neighbouring countries and nepotism applied in the distribution of seeds due to lack of proper distribution channel. Under the new arrangement, farmers are buying government-subsidised fertilisers from over 900 agro-dealers across the country, but after presenting land titles to verify whether the amount of fertilisers they request matches the size of their land, according to RAB. On fertiliser application level, last financial year, around 32,000 tonnes of mineral fertilisers were used, according to RAB. The Government targets to have about 50,000 tonnes of mineral fertilisers applied in the 2017 agriculture season A and B, with estimated Rwf9 billion in subsidies for both seeds and crops in the same period. Parliament examines new law governing Rwanda Agriculture Board Members of the Parliamentarian committee on agriculture, livestock and environment examined a new draft law establishing RAB and determining its mission, organisation and functioning. The current law was enacted in 2010 after the merger of three institutions namely the Rwanda Agricultural Research Institute (ISAR), Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), and Rwanda Animal Resources Development Authority (RARDA). However, there was lack of harmony in the operations of RAB personnel as they were still working as though they were from their respective institutions prior to their union as RAB. Under the new law, lawmakers called for proper use of arable land available in the country to get optimal produce. They called for empowering of farmers in terms of good farming practices and providing them with quality improved seeds. Another area that they said has to be considered is to ensure effective implementation of research and extension services such that new agricultural inputs reach farmers and benefit them accordingly. Rwanda and Morocco sign Bilateral Agreements in Agriculture sector cooperation On October 20, 2016, while King Mohammed VI of Morocco visited Kigali, Rwanda and the Kingdom of Morocco signed bilateral agreements in the advancement of agriculture sector which will see sealed cooperation of the two countries' agriculture ministries in areas including exchange of expertise in water management, agriculture finance and crop insurance, horticulture, animal health and production. Other areas included soil mapping and testing, irrigation as well as fertiliser manufacturing and blending. Under the fertiliser blending, MINAGRI signed an agreement with Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) - a Moroccan state-owned phosphate mining company which is the world's leading producer of phosphate rock and phosphoric acid as well as one of the leading global fertiliser players - to set up a fertiliser blending factory in Rwanda. Speaking after the signing of the agreement, the Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr. Gerardine Mukeshimana said that establishing a fertiliser blending plant in the country will give farmers access to better agricultural input products that are tailor-made for the local soil, hence improving agricultural productivity. Senators tour districts to evaluate performance of agriculture and livestock sector Members of the Senatorial Standing Committee on Economic Development and Finance engaged in an outreach tour that was intended to monitor and assess the performance of the agriculture sector in the country. The assessment based on the benchmarks outlined in government's current seven year programme. The programme, running from 2010 through 2017, aims at ravitalising the country's development in various aspects, including governance, justice, economy and social well-being. While presenting the sector status report to the legislators, Octave Semwaga, the Director of Strategic Planning and Programme Coordinator at the ministry, said about 41 percent of farmers now use improved seeds, against the set target of 100 per cent by 2017. The senators said that there is need to revitalise research on crop diseases such as in cassava, banana, fruit and beans and ensure that there is enough and affordable improved seeds so as to meet agricultural targets. Rwanda launches Agriculture Land Information System (ALIS) On October 11, 2016, the Government launched the first phase of Agriculture Land Information System (ALIS) to help fast-track the Government's goal of transforming agriculture from subsistence to an economic engine. ALIS - the web-based platform accessible on www.minagri.gov.rw/investorapp/ - will provide information to private investors on available agricultural public land parcels. This includes helping investors from anywhere in the world have easy access to land information, including size, general soil type, suitability to a given crop, current land use, electricity, proximity to roads and water sources, and agro-climatic conditions. Officials said one of the main challenges to increased private investments in Rwanda is the lack of quick and accessible information on land available for commercial use by potential interested private investors. Agriculture policy reviewed The agriculture policy that was developed in 2004 was revised last year 2016 with intention to optimise produce from agriculture and livestock sector, at the same time ensuring proper utilisation of natural resources and sustainability for future generations, according to officials from MINAGRI. The main aspects that the review focuses on include proper management of water resources both for crop irrigation and domestic and industrial use, helping farmers get affordable seeds and access to markets for good prices and income. Other priority areas are the development of crop and livestock varieties resistant to climate change related issues, and agriculture and livestock insurance as well as the use of ICT in agriculture. The programme also puts emphasis on value-addition to agricultural produce through setting up agro-processing units, and enabling proper post-harvest handling to avoid losses. The Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture in Rwanda Phase III (PSTA III), which aims to intensify and commercialise agriculture, targets to attain an annual agricultural growth of 8.5 percent, annual export growth of 28 percent and 40 percent of land under modern agriculture by 2017/2018. This development is expected to contribute toward the country's middle-income status goal with per capita GDP of $1240 by 2020 from $220 in 2000. Currently, GDP per capita stands at $720, according to a report by NISR in March, 2016. Source - http://allafrica.com

USA - QBE NAU Crop Insurance Selects Iteris ClearAg

Iteris, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITI), the global leader in applied informatics for transportation and agriculture, today announced that QBE NAU Crop Insurance has signed a multi-year subscription agreement for Iteris’ ClearAg weather, wind and soil data plus visualization component technology to improve crop reporting and reduce crop loss. “We‘re always looking to help our agents be industry leaders in technology and thanks to ClearAg our agents have a new set of tools to offer their farmers,” said Michael Deal, chief marketing & technology officer at QBE NAU. “We chose ClearAg because they can deliver science-based agronomic insight tools that draw on a vast store of weather, wind and soil data combined with cutting-edge visualizations. ClearAg tools will help our agents and their farmers more quickly understand crop health conditions to reduce loss risk and be more productive in their fields.” QBE NAU is the third largest approved insurance provider (AIP) in the U.S. with more than 3,000 agents who serve more than 80,000 farmers. QBE NAU will use ClearAg environmental data and agronomic visualization technology to provide critical field-level insights so that their agents and farmer customers can proactively mitigate risk and prevent crop loss. “Accurately predicting near-term weather and soil conditions is a scientifically proven approach to reducing crop loss,” said Tom Blair, senior vice president at Iteris. “As a forward-thinking AIP, QBE NAU is making a strategic investment in environmental data analytics that will help the thousands of agents and tens of thousands of farmers they serve make better-informed decisions for crop health. Putting science-based agronomic insights into the hands of the agents and farmers highlights QBE NAU’s leadership as an AIP pioneer.” ClearAg is a leading digital agriculture platform that delivers weather, water, soil and crop health data and advisory services to growers, researchers and other agribusinesses who need accurate, location-based information available on a worldwide basis. Iteris is the only weather information and data science company to apply Land Surface Modeling (LSM) technology to agronomic problems. About QBE NAU Crop Insurance QBE NAU Crop Insurance is a leading Multi-Peril Crop Insurance company passionate about serving the American Farmer and supporting their agents in the continental United States. Headquartered in Ramsey, MN with Branch Offices in 10 locations, QBE NAU has grown over the years by providing outstanding customer service and leading-edge technology. As a division of QBE Insurance Group Ltd., one of the top 20 insurers worldwide, they have the financial strength for today’s insurance environment. About Iteris, Inc. Iteris is the global leader in applied informatics for transportation and agriculture, turning big data into big breakthrough solutions. We collect, aggregate and analyze data on traffic, roads, weather, water, soil and crops to generate precise informatics that lead to safer transportation and smarter farming. Municipalities, government agencies, crop science companies, farmers and agronomists around the world use our solutions to make roads safer and travel more efficient, as well as farmlands more sustainable, healthy and productive. Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 This release may contain forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof and are based upon our current expectations and the information available to us at this time. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "may," “should,” "will," "can," and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the anticipated benefits and success of our agreement and future success in utilizing the ClearAg solution. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Important factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, our ClearAg solution’s ability to provide critical field-level insights and to improve crop reporting and reduce crop loss; our ClearAg solution’s ability to help users make better informed decisions for crop health; the future adoption of the ClearAg solution in the agribusiness markets; customer’s dedication of resources and ability to achieve market acceptance for its own products and services; our ability to gain additional patent protection for our technologies and products; and the potential impact of product and service offerings from competitors and such competitors’ patent coverage and claims. Source - http://www.businesswire.com

USA - Crop Insurance Number One Priority For New Farm Bill

With the first congressional session of the year starting up in Washington D.C., there's a lot of ag issues on the slate. The Republican controlled Congress looks to take up regulation issues as well as a potential new Farm Bill. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the number one priority when writing the new farm bill he has for farmers this session is to preserve a vigorous crop insurance program. He says there's no safety net more valuable to farmers and taxpayers than crop insurance. In the case of agricultural disasters, farmers are only covered 50 percent, Grassley says, "It not only saves the taxpayers money, because obviously if we didn't have crop insurance and you had disasters in agriculture, the taxpayers would be 100 percent of it. In addition to saving the taxpayers money, we also are encouraging to plan ahead and to manage risk and 95 percent of the farmers in Iowa do that." Grassley adds the farm bill won't slow down even though there has been no Agriculture Secretary picked yet. That will start out with hearings in the agriculture committee. Source - http://whotv.com

India - Farmers hit by crop loss will be compensated without delay

Minister for PWD, State Highways and Minor Ports Edappadi K. Palaniswami, accompanied by Nasimuddin, monitoring officer, made assessment of crop loss suffered by the farmers due to severe drought conditions prevailing in the three Assembly constituencies in the district on Thursday. The Minister inspected the fields of the affected farmers in Yercaud, Attur and Gangavalli Assembly constituencies. They visited the villages of Tukkiyampalayam in Valappadi block, Ariyappalayam and Mullaivadi (Bethanayakkanpalayam block), Naduvalur south and Lathuvadi (Gangavalli block) and assessed the extent of loss suffered by the farmers. They made enquiries with the farmers and the farm workers and assured them adequate compensation. Later, addressing a meeting of the officials at the Collectorate, Mr. Palaniswami said that the state government has initiated effective steps for the assessment of crop loss due to the failure of the north-east monsoon by special teams to provide adequate compensation to the affected farmers without any delay. The Minister said that the work of assessing the crop loss got under way in all the 20 panchayat unions in the district on Thursday. Special teams comprising deputy tahsildars, revenue inspectors, village administrative officers, officials of the agriculture and horticulture departments, have been formed to assess the extent of drought and the crop loss. He said that the modalities for adopting proper yardstick for arriving at exact loss has already been explained the members of the teams. The officials should take pictures of the affected crop and forward the same along with their report to their higher officials. Training has already been imparted to the team members in this regard. The team members should ensure that all the affected farmers were covered, so that they could get adequate compensation from the state government. District Collector V. Sampath, MLAs A. Maruthamuthu and R. M. Chinnathambi, and senior officials of various government departments participated in the meeting. Source - http://www.thehindu.com

India - Deficient rainfall affects lemon cultivation in Vijayapura

Cultivation of lemon, which is among the chief horticultural crops in the district, has been hit severely owing to the drought conditions. According to officials of the Horticulture Department, lemon crop has been damaged on over 1,975 hectares owing to deficient rainfall. The loss is concentrated in Indi taluk of the district — the largest producer of lemon where crop on over 1,400 hectares has been affected, followed by Vijayapura (419 hectares) and Sindgi (156 hectares). “The monetary loss to the farmers is estimated at ₹3.55 crore,” an official said. According to officials, the crop loss report was prepared after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued an order to assess the extent of damage. The department has already submitted the report to the district administration. Meanwhile, farmers are still waiting for relief from the government as so far, they have not received any assurance though officials did visit them for damage assessment. Many farmers had borrowed from private moneylenders in order to to supply water to the crop. Shivarudrappa Halasangi, a farmer of Tamba village, said he has already spent around ₹2 lakh on tanker water supply. “If not to get the lemon, water must be supplied at least to keep the plant alive. Else, we have to replant the saplings, which will take years to reach the stage of bearing fruit,” he said. Mr. Halasangi said some of the farmers have borrowed loans in exchange of jewellery to protect the crop. Meanwhile, officials said they are unable to disburse compensation as the department has not received any relief fund from the government. Source - http://www.thehindu.com

India- Haryana minister seeks central aid for sugarcane industry

Haryana Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu has sought financial assistance from the Centre for the sugarcane industry while addressing concerns related to digital transactions and modifications in the crop insurance scheme. Speaking at the pre-budget consultations held by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on Wednesday, Abhimanyu on Friday said the state government was planning to emulate the Centre by presenting its budget on the basis of revenue and capital classification in February 2017. He urged Jaitley to enhance the allocation, especially for development of infrastructural facilities in rural areas. Captain Abhimanyu said all cooperative sugar mills in the state were incurring losses and have negative net worth. The minister also requested the Centre to provide financial assistance in the form of interest-free loans or soft loans to set up ethanol and co-generation plants. Source - http://indianexpress.com

New Zealand - Farmers worried about effect of rain on cherries

Light rain hit Central Otago yesterday and growers are hoping that it doesn't have any affects on the crops. Showers fell intermittently in the Alexandra-Clyde area throughout the day but had not affected the fruit, Dunstan Hills orchard manager Ian Nicholls, of Earnscleugh, said. Helicopters were used at Dunstan Hills in the morning to dry cherries on trees. Light rain also fell in the Teviot Valley and Cromwell district, but would hopefully not affect crops in those areas, although some orchardists said they would not be able to make an accurate assessment until today. Peak harvest is just beginning in most areas and cherries and apricots are being picked. Cooler weather has slowed ripening in some areas. Nectarines, peaches and plums are also being picked at some orchards. While quality seems to be good this year, farmers were hesitant to remark on the cherries as it is too soon to say if the rain has caused any damage. Source - odt.co.nz

Spain - Winds destroy banana and pineapple crops in El Hierro

The island of El Hierro has been one of the most badly hit by the wind and hot weather that struck the Archipelago last weekend. Strong wind gusts of more than 90 kilometres per hour destroyed crops like bananas, avocados and tropical pineapples. According to the president of the Cabildo Herreño, Belén Allende, the losses could exceed one million Euro. "The damage is huge. In the case of bananas, the plants have been left bare and have burned, and citrus fruits and avocados have been similarly affected," explained Allende. Another crop that has been severely affected is tropical pineapples. "Tropical pineapples have long been an economic engine for El Golfo Valley and almost the entire production has been lost," explained the president. Given the magnitude of the losses, the President of the regional Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, will travel to the island to assess their extent and visit the area of El Golfo, which was the most affected by the storm. The wind continues Strong winds will continue in the Canaries this week, with some areas in the islands expecting some that will reach speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour, with skies that will be just a little cloudy or clear, according to the State Meteorological Agency. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com