Ministry of Finance: Agricultural insurance continues to show results in protecting and benefiting farmers

China News Service, Beijing, October 23 (Reporter Zhao Jianhua) Li Nan, deputy director of the Financial Department of the Ministry of Finance, said at a press conference held in Beijing on the 23rd that agricultural insurance has continued to show results in protecting and benefiting farmers. After years of advancement, the full cost and planting income insurance policy for rice, wheat, corn, and soybeans has achieved full nationwide coverage; sugar cane full cost and planting income insurance, and natural rubber comprehensive insurance have policies that basically cover major production areas. The protection is significantly improved compared to traditional physical and chemical cost insurance, effectively relieving farmers' worries about growing grain.

As a "stabilizer" and "safety net" for agricultural production, agricultural insurance is an important policy tool that benefits farmers and is directly related to farmers' income, stable grain production and national food security. Li Nan said that nearly 80% of my country’s agricultural insurance premiums are subsidized by the government, effectively reducing the burden on farmers to participate in the insurance. In the past five years, the average insurance coverage level of the country's three major staple grains has increased from about 400 yuan to nearly 1,000 yuan, and the average coverage level of soybean insurance has increased from about 250 yuan to nearly 600 yuan, further stabilizing farmers' production confidence.

Li Nan said that since the beginning of this year, many places have suffered disasters such as heavy rains, floods, and typhoons, and the cumulative compensation paid by agricultural insurance nationwide has exceeded 100 billion yuan. In particular, during the critical period of "seven down and eight up" flood control, we paid about 30 billion yuan in compensation to disaster-stricken farmers, effectively responded to the impact of disasters such as typhoons "Bavi", "Mesak" and "White Dolphin", and fully supported disaster relief and production resumption.

Since the beginning of this year, the national agricultural insurance premiums have exceeded 140 billion yuan, providing a total of approximately 4.4 trillion yuan in risk protection for 105 million rural households. Li Nan said that the annual premium is expected to be stable at more than 150 billion yuan, which can provide risk protection of more than 5 trillion yuan, continue to consolidate the foundation for agricultural production security, and build a solid food security barrier.