Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s rice insurance scheme for this year’s first crop began on July 3 after it was approved by the cabinet last week.
The programme, worth 2 billion THB (around 58.84 million USD), will be run by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).
It is expected to be applied on 25-30 million rai (40.000- 48.000 square kilometres) of rice farmland and cover insurance for natural disasters, including floods, droughts, storms, cold, hail and fires.
Farmers will receive compensation of 1,260 THB (37.07 USD) a rai (equivalent to 1,600 square metres) this year, up from 1,111 THB (32.69 USD) per rai offered in 2016, in case of crops damage by natural disasters and 630 THB (18.53 USD) a rai in the event of pests and diseases, up from last year’s 555 THB (16.33 USD).
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This year’s insurance premium is scheduled at 97.37 THB (2.86 USD) per rai, down from 107.42 THB (3.16 USD) per rai last year for farmers with less than 25 million rai and 108.07 THB (3.18 USD) per rai for those with more than 25 million rai. The government is expected to pay 61.37 THB (1.81 USD) a rai in compensation this year.
The insurance scheme is planned to run from June to August 31 for farmers living in different parts of the country, except for the southern provinces, where it will last until December 15.
Data released by the Office of Agricultural Economics shows Thailand has 58.7 million rai (93.920 square kilometers) of rice fields in total. The Ministry of Finance is studying whether to expand the insurance programme to cover off-season rice and corn.-VNA
