In the vast expanse of China’s farmlands, farmers rise with the sun, tending to their crops with hope and diligence. Yet, the unpredictability of nature looms over their livelihoods. A sudden flood or drought can erase a year’s worth of hard work in a moment.
Enter agricultural insurance—a growing safety net that offers farmers a lifeline when disaster strikes. This system not only safeguards individual farmers but also reinforces China’s food security, ensuring that the nation’s rice bowl remains full.
China, an agricultural powerhouse, boasted an agricultural output value of 9 trillion yuan (approximately 1.24 trillion U.S. dollars) last year. With grain production nearing 700 million tonnes and meat production hitting 96 million tonnes, the country leads the world in these metrics. However, natural disasters pose significant challenges, affecting an average of 20.7 million hectares of agricultural land annually over the past decade.
“Natural disasters and extreme weather events are on the rise,” said Vice Finance Minister Liao Min at a recent press conference. “But with enhanced grain security, we ensure that China’s rice bowl remains firmly in our hands.”
To combat these challenges, China is meticulously crafting a comprehensive policy system for grain farmers. This system integrates subsidies, pricing, and insurance into an income protection framework, with agricultural insurance emerging as a cornerstone policy.
The insurance program focuses on the three staple grains: rice, wheat, and corn. These crops cover over 80 percent of China’s total grain sowing area and account for over 90 percent of its production. This year, they will be insured through full-cost and planting income insurance, marking a milestone toward inclusive and equitable benefits across the agricultural sector.
Farmers have the option to choose from three types of insurance: material cost insurance, full-cost insurance, and planting income insurance. The basic material cost insurance offers coverage of about 525 yuan per mu (one fifteenth of a hectare), with the government subsidizing approximately 80 percent of the premium. For the more comprehensive insurance types, farmers pay a slightly higher share but receive double the compensation in the event of disasters.
“Farmers can essentially secure their harvests regardless of whether drought or flood strikes,” Liao emphasized.
Real-life examples highlight the program’s impact. Last year, during the wheat harvest in Henan Province—a major grain-producing region—continuous rainfall threatened the crops. Agricultural insurance provided 2.6 billion yuan in compensation, significantly mitigating farmers’ losses.
Similarly, a farming cooperative in Harbin faced severe flooding last August. With full-cost insurance covering over 60 hectares of corn, the cooperative received compensation amounting to several hundred thousand yuan, far exceeding their initial premium payments.
Data shows that agricultural insurance paid out 112.4 billion yuan last year, a 25.4 percent increase year-on-year. Compensation for grain, particularly the three major food crops, reached 57.72 million households.
As China’s agricultural scale and the number of farming entities grow, full-cost and planting income insurance serve as a cushion against disaster risks, bolstering farmers’ confidence in grain planting. With over 1.7 million family farms and 500,000 cooperatives growing grain last year, farmers are more willing to invest in their crops, knowing they have a safety net.
China has enjoyed consecutive years of bountiful harvests. In 2023, the total grain yield reached about 695 million tonnes, marking nine consecutive years of surpassing this significant mark. From January to April this year, agricultural insurance has already paid out 29.4 billion yuan, benefiting over 8 million households.
The expansion of agricultural insurance is more than just a policy—it’s a promise to China’s farmers that their toil will not be in vain and a commitment to the nation’s food security.
Reference(s):
Agricultural insurance serves as all-weather friend to food security
cgtn.com
