en.Wedoany.com Reported - Colombia's Ministry of Agriculture (Ministerio de Agricultura), through Finagro, announced it will allocate 67.272 billion pesos to subsidize farmers interested in purchasing agricultural insurance to cope with extreme drought. This move aims to address the severe risks posed to the agricultural sector by what could be the strongest El Niño phenomenon on record.
The ministry stated that through other pilot projects for automatically activated insurance, approximately 6,183 coffee growers have already obtained coverage. The insurance covers both insufficient and excessive rainfall, with a total insured amount reaching 55.371 billion pesos. Through this mechanism, insurance worth approximately 15.329 billion pesos will also be provided to 3,308 other producers across six municipalities.
Given that the El Niño phenomenon in Colombia's history is characterized by persistently high temperatures and water scarcity, the Ministry of Agriculture will, starting July 1, provide premium subsidies of up to 85% for low-income smallholder farmers and 35% for medium-scale producers. This means that if a farmer purchases a policy worth 1 million pesos, the government will cover up to 850,000 pesos of the premium, with the beneficiary only needing to pay 150,000 pesos plus 5% VAT.
Furthermore, the ministry has launched the Agricultural Insurance Incentive Program (ISA), aimed at strengthening Colombia's agricultural risk management policy. Minister of Agriculture Martha Carvajalino stated that the measure is designed to support farmers and producers so they do not have to face the challenges brought by the El Niño phenomenon alone. Simultaneously, a guarantee strategy is being developed to ensure producers can continue sowing and safeguard Colombia's food security.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, to date, the ISA program has benefited 19,467 farmers growing coffee, rice, bananas, potatoes, cassava, cocoa, and corn, protecting approximately 41,073 production projects with a total estimated value of 368.585 billion pesos. Finagro President Jimena Ruiz emphasized that the nation's security will depend on the resilience of food producers, and these incentives aim to ensure that the year of the El Niño phenomenon does not mean bankruptcy for producers, but rather enables them to receive support to replant under any circumstances.
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