More than 5,000 farmers and fisherfolk in this city will get added protection from the effects of adverse weather conditions through crop insurance, strengthening the safety net for agricultural producers whose livelihoods remain vulnerable to typhoons, drought, floods, and other natural hazards.
Laoag City agriculturist Sheila Marie Opelac confirmed this on Wednesday following the State of the City Address of Laoag City Mayor James Bryan Alcid, highlighting food security as a top priority of the city government.
Part of this initiative is to provide farmers and fisherfolk with greater confidence to continue investing in their farms through crop insurance. For farmers, a damaged crop can mean more than a failed harvest. It can mean lost capital, unpaid debts, and uncertainty over how to finance the next planting season.
According to Opelac, the Agricultural Producers Protection Plan (AP3) helps cushion that blow by providing financial assistance to qualified insured farmers who experience covered agricultural losses.
“For this year, there are 2,254 farmers, 822 fishermen, 2,038 rural women, and 219 rural youth who are covered by AP3,” she said.
AP3 is designed to provide farmers and other agricultural producers with financial protection against losses arising from natural disasters and other covered risks. For farming communities, where a single typhoon, flood, drought, or pest infestation can wipe out months of work and investment, having a reliable safety net can make the difference between recovery and financial hardship.
According to the Laoag City agriculture office, the “habagat” or southwest monsoon rains over the past weeks damaged about PHP718,631 worth of rice and yellow corn crops, covering 60 hectares of farmland owned by 151 farmers.
This prompted the city government of Laoag, along with the provincial and national governments, to provide the farmers with immediate interventions through the distribution of food, including various agricultural inputs, on top of the crop insurance coverage. (PNA)
