PUTRAJAYA – Various initiatives have been planned by the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry throughout this year to help industry players including farmers, livestock breeders and fishermen.
Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said this included getting Agrobank to spearhead efforts to introduce farming or agrofood insurance protection schemes to the target groups nationwide.
He said the protection scheme would provide several takaful protection options to contributors affected by disasters, disease outbreaks and weather uncertainties.
“None of the insurance companies in Malaysia offer insurance policies for the agricultural sector while other agricultural countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, China and even Indonesia do.
“The insurance scheme to be introduced by the ministry is still in the pipeline and we hope it will become a reality soon where the industry itself is encouraged to offer suitable models for the agricultural insurance scheme,” he told the media when presenting his ministry’s one-year achievements yesterday.
Ronald said for a start Agrobank would spearhead efforts to stimulate the growth of the agribusiness insurance industry. The ministry is also not stopping other insurance providers from creating such policies.
He said due to the lack of agricultural insurance, the government had to allocate RM80 million under the Agrofood Disaster Relief Fund to help paddy growers, farmers and livestock breeders who lost their produce due to natural disasters under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).
He said the initiative could indirectly maintain the involvement of farmers and livestock breeders in ensuring the security of food supply and at the same time it was a form of assistance to safeguard their well-being. – Bernama, March 11, 2021
