Alvi for developing sustainable products for farmers

President Dr Arif Alvi has called upon insurance companies to develop credible and sustainable products to provide insurance for crops and agricultural products.

The president also urged the companies to consult with each other and provide user-friendly products for farmers, especially those in possession of land measuring less than 12.5 acres.

He said that the large landholding farmers also needed to be insured with greater emphasis on the farmers living at the minimum subsistence level to protect them against crop losses due to manmade and natural calamities and unpredictable weather systems.

The president made these remarks while addressing a seminar titled, ‘Importance of Crop Insurance in the Modern Era’, organised by TPL Insurance in collaboration with the Express Media Group at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Dr Alvi noted that agriculture which used to be 50% of GDP has lost its value and now it was only 23% of GDP. Because of this, it was not attracting the attention of the policymakers as was needed, he added.

He said that agriculture was still the backbone of the economy and it was necessary that this sector should get patronage and support at the public and private levels for ensuring food security for the country which was only possible if the farmers were protected irrespective of their landholding sizes from the adverse impact and damages sustained by them due to man-made and natural calamities.

He said that Pakistan had a very elaborate system of satellite imagery that produces relevant data continuously about various weather patterns but unfortunately it was not being properly analysed to predict weather patterns, and fluctuations in the weather system and to forewarn the farmers against unpredicted rain or other natural calamities.

He emphasised that meaningful steps should be taken to analyse the satellite data and transform its findings productively and effectively at the grassroots level to help the farmers to decide on the nature and timing of the sowing of crops and to safeguard themselves against fluctuations in the weather system.

He observed that besides crop insurance, other insurance products should also be developed for the subsidiary products like animal husbandry, milk and dairy products, meat poultry, fish farming and vertical farming, etc. to provide holistic and well thought-out and tested insurance products.

He noted that the crop insurance scheme developed by the Punjab government with the help of the World Bank had produced fruitful results to protect the farmers from losses due to climate change or other calamities.

This model should be studied and the findings should be transmitted to the rest of the country, he added.

He called upon the insurance companies to develop such credible products which gain immediate confidence and support from the farmer community and are readily adopted by them. He underscored the need to promote the insurance product on all platforms of media i.e. print, electronic, social and cellular forms through PTA messaging to communicate the product and benefits associated with them at the grassroots level.

The president observed that, unlike other countries, Pakistan had an excellent system of social insurance where the family members and close relatives come out generously to help other family members who had suffered losses due to different reasons. He called upon the insurance companies to study this outstanding social insurance system and develop products around this concept which, he said, being cost-effective and sustainable would likely be welcomed by the farmer community.

He said that being Muslims, the farmers rely on their fate and the grace of Allah Almighty for growing healthy crops but, at the same time, the government was also duty bound to help and compensate the losses incurred by the farmers due to the crop losses by providing them financial assistance to help them to reemerge from the difficulties faced by them due to various reasons including climate change.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2023.