Sources have said, the NSW Government is close to finalising the subsidies. It would be the first time a state government has underwritten multi-peril crop insurance premiums. It comes after the Federal Government launched a scheme in March offering rebates of up to $2500 for the upfront costs growers pay when they apply for multi-peril crop insurance. According to sources, the NSW Government will implement key recommendations from the recent Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal multi-peril crop insurance review. The review’s draft report, released in July, analysed the impact of a 50 per cent premium subsidy for the first two years, capped at $30,000 per farm business. This is reportedly the package the NSW Government is close to approving. The draft report said implementing the subsidy at the proposed level was “likely to cost the NSW Government about $7 million to $8 million a year”. The report also outlined the high cost of multi-peril premiums — several insurers estimated they ranged from $25,000 to $50,000 a year. The NSW Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair said he was considering the final report that was delivered to him last month. “The NSW Government is committed to supporting our farming sector to be more resilient, and better able to manage risk — that’s why in 2015 we put in place the five-year, $300 million NSW drought strategy,” Mr Blair said in a statement. “One of the key actions in that strategy was to investigate ways the NSW Government could support growth of a commercial multi-peril insurance market, to provide another risk management tool for our farmers.” NSW Farmers’ Association president Derek Schoen said it was supportive of a multi-peril crop insurance subsidy, but it was not a “silver bullet” and government intervention needed to “complement a broader integrated drought policy”. A spokesman for Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford said it would monitor any policy changes. Source - http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au