The Council of Agriculture (COA) said it is formulating crop and aquaculture insurance policies for vulnerable products, including mangoes, rice and grouper, after the nation’s agriculture and aquaculture sectors suffered losses of NT$3.3 billion (US$98.07 million) during a cold front last month.
The cold spell — that brought rare snow to the nation — was the most destructive cold front Taiwan ever encountered, with damage estimated at a record NT$3.3 billion, the council’s figures showed yesterday, surpassing the NT$1.94 billion in losses caused by a severe cold front in 1992, the council said.
Aquaculture damage accounted for about 87 percent of total losses, while grapes, wax apples, tomatoes, strawberries and grafted pear scions were the hardest-hit crops.
“Agriculture is more vulnerable to the impact of the extreme weather than the impact of trade liberalization. Farmers must consider regional and weather conditions and a crop’s adaptiveness when growing crops,” council Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基) said at a news conference on Friday.
Milkfish is a tropical fish species, but it has been farmed in great numbers in the subtropical counties of Yunlin and Chiayi, and groupers — also a tropical species — could be found in farms as far north as Yilan County, Chen said.
These two species are very susceptible to cold fronts, and farmers must understand the natural growing environment of a species to reduce the effects of cold weather, Chen said.
The nation’s first crop insurance was launched last year, which has been limited to grafted pear scions, the council said yesterday.
The council is seeking to diversify the policy to cover more crops and aquatic products, including mangoes, rice, farmed fish and farming facilities, it said, adding that the coverage should also be extended to reimburse damage caused by typhoons and torrential rain.
A total of 16 pear farms have been insured against cold damage since the launch of the crop insurance and they would be eligible for cash compensation of between NT$30,000 to NT$60,000 per damaged hectare on top of the council’s cash grant of NT$60,000 per damaged hectare, the council said.
Meanwhile, the council said it is planning to provide a grouper insurance scheme to help the nation’s highest-grossing fish farming industry adapt to climate change.
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