THE Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) in Negros Occidental is set to release about P2.7 million worth of crop insurance claims to 462 farmers in the province with farms affected by calamities, its official said Wednesday. Jose Maria Torres, manager of PCIC-Negros Occidental, said the awarding of claims will be held during the Sixth Pasidungog sa Panguma, Pangisda kag Pangkasapatan on April 16, which is part of this year’s Panaad sa Negros Festival events. Torres said recipient-farmers have composite areas of 532.44 hectares of farms hit by the persisting dry spell and pest infestations, all associated with the El Niño phenomenon. “Those with farms affected by typhoon and flooding in the last quarter of last year are also among those receiving claims during the awards night at the Panaad,” he added. The PCIC had earlier reported that it has already released almost P5.8 million worth of indemnity claims to 1,034 dry spell-affected farmers in the province through its various crop insurance programs. The recipients are among the 4,922 farmers enrolled by the PCIC-Negros Occidental and the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) as of February 29 this year, with farms damaged by the prolonged dry weather. The bulk of the farmers who filed their notices of loss are enrolled under the Negros First Universal Crop Insurance Program (NFUCIP) and the Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture (RSBSA) program. The NFUCIP is being implemented in partnership with the provincial government while RSBSA is under the National Government through the Department of Budget and Management. In 2015, PCIC has paid P27.6 million in claims to 6,000 insured farmers in Negros Occidental. This year, insurance claims may reach more than P50 million for the province, Torres said. Source - sunstar.com.ph/