Goverment plans new agri-insurance scheme as drought bites

The Government revealed yesterday that it was working to provide agriculture insurance to thousands of farmers as the country continues to suffer under the worst drought in 40 years.

A proposal by Agriculture Minister Duminda Dissanayake has received Cabinet approval, which would consider providing Rs. 40,000 for each acre affected by natural disasters.

A range of crops including rice, maize, soya, large onions, potato and chillies will be covered under the scheme.

Sri Lanka’s state-run National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF) in 2016 insured all local households against natural disasters, making Sri Lanka one of the few developing countries in the world to have a countrywide insurance policy which includes all houses.

NITF will also be responsible for the newly proposed agri-insurance scheme by the Government.  

The developments come in the backdrop of an ongoing drought that has resulted in over 300,000 families in Sri Lanka becoming food insecure and has raised indebtedness in farmer communities, according to the United Nations.

Due to the ongoing drought, rice production for 2017 is expected to be the lowest paddy production in the last 10 years.

The Government along with the UN and other organisations has rolled out relief programs.