AYUTTHAYA, Sept 28 – Thai farmers are encouraged to join the paddy insurance scheme for this harvest year, but the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) said that so far only 500,000 rai of the targeted eight million rai of paddy fields have been insured.
Boonthai Kaewkhuntee, BAAC Executive Vice President, said the scheme, launched in the 2011 harvest year, was aimed at safeguarding the interest of farmers against erratic weather.
This year’s insurance will also cover damages from insects and contagious plant diseases, he said, adding that deadline for the programme is Oct 26 except for the South where it is extended to Nov 2.
The insurance premium is Bt129.47 per rai while the government pays a subsidy of Bt69.74 per rai. A farmer is required to pay Bt60/rai and BAAC clients get a Bt10 reduction per rai.
Insurance companies incurred substantial losses from last year’s massive floods in the North and Central Plains, having to pay Bt700-800 million to farmer beneficiaries, while collecting total premiums of only Bt134 million.
Mr Boonthai admitted that this year’s paddy insurance scheme will cover only three to four million rai.
