China: Local Company Organizes Farmers to Buy Insurance for Tobacco Growing

Source from:  TobaccoChiana Online 02/20/2012

Longyan City Tobacco Company in southeast China's Fujian Province has cooperated with Longyan City Branch of PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited in organizing local tobacco growers to buy insurance for tobacco growing in 2012, in efforts to assist farmers in warding off risks from natural disasters and enhancing their risk-resistance capacity in tobacco growing. The insurance arrangement is intended to give play to the role of insurance in preventing and reducing natural disasters in tobacco growing and to protect the enthusiasm of farmers to grow tobacco. In particular, Liancheng County Office of Longyan City Branch of PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited has made efforts in this endeavor by distributing publicity materials, operating desks to take inquiries about insurance, visiting farmers to interpret insurance policies, etc, in generalizing insurance for tobacco growing in the local region on a full scale. Under the insurance arrangement, an average of 54 yuan (8.8 U.S. dollars) in premium needs to be paid for an insurance amount of 600 yuan (95 U.S. dollars) per mu (per 0.067 hectare) annually. Of the premium, Longyan City Tobacco Company will offer 27 yuan (4.3 U.S. dollars) while the city and county finances will offer 16.2 yuan (2.8 U.S. dollars) in subsidies. As a result, the local tobacco growers themselves only need to pay the remaining 10.8 yuan (1.7 U.S. dollars) in premium. The liability from the insurance arrangement includes compensation for damages to tobacco crops arising from floods, droughts, windstorms, hailstorms, low temperatures, etc. Speaking to Chinese news media, a local tobacco grower named Yang Yuliang said: "In 2010, an extraordinarily serious snowstorm caused severe damage to my tobacco crops of more than 100 mu (more than 6.67 hectares). Now, the tobacco company has helped us to acquire an insurance policy for tobacco growing. With the insurance arrangement, we are quite easy." Enditem