ILOILO City – At least 690 farmers and fisherfolk across Western Visayas received more than P4 million in insurance payments after their crops, livestock and fisheries were battered by typhoons, drought, African Swine Fever (ASF), pests and other climate-related threats.
The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) Regional Office 6 distributed P4,057,146.53 worth of indemnity checks to affected agricultural workers from Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Guimaras and Negros Occidental.
PCIC regional manager Eva Ulie Laud said the beneficiaries had reported agricultural losses caused by natural calamities and other threats, including typhoons, drought, ASF, Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI), and other plant pests and diseases associated with climate change.
The 690 beneficiaries are registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and covered by the government’s free crop insurance program.
The indemnity checks were distributed as PCIC Region 6 joined the nationwide Handog ng Pangulo: Serbisyong Sapat Para Lahat, with turnover activities held at various locations across the region, including the Iloilo Provincial Capitol and sites in Guimaras, Aklan, Capiz and Negros Occidental.
PCIC is targeting 709,911 farmers and fisherfolk in Western Visayas for RSBSA registration this year, which would allow them to qualify for crop insurance protection should their crops, livestock, poultry or fisheries suffer damage from calamities and other covered risks.
The RSBSA serves as the government’s official registry of farmers and fisherfolk and contains information on their farms and fisheries. It is also used as a basis in determining beneficiaries of various government agricultural assistance programs.
Farmers and fisherfolk who want to register may proceed to their respective Municipal Agriculture Offices and accomplish an RSBSA form. They are required to provide complete and accurate information.
During the Iloilo turnover at the Provincial Capitol, Laud distributed indemnity checks to selected farmers and fisherfolk whose crops and fisheries had been damaged by calamities.
Also present were Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., Energy Secretary Sharon Garin and Department of Agriculture-6 Regional Executive Director Dennis Arpia./PN
