The developed forest and agroforestry plantations under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) may now be insured under the insurance programs of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC).
This was made possible after the heads of these agencies, DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu and PCIC President Jovy C. Bernabe, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on 14 February 2022, that cements the institutional partnership for the provision of the insurance package for forestry species.
PCIC’s insurance coverage will address the welfare aspect in cases of loss or destruction of the forest crops as well as stabilize production and income of the insured forest farmers by providing them quick funds to restart farming operations thru indemnification. In addition, it will provide incentives to banks and other financing institutions to open up their credit windows to forest farming.
The DENR for its part will link its program partners in forest development, specifically Peoples Organization, Indigenous Peoples Organization (POs/IPOs), cooperatives, individuals, corporations and/or tenure holders to the PCIC for insurance protection.
The forestry and agroforestry species that may be insured include those in the existing High Value Crops (HVCs) insurance program list of the PCIC namely: falcata, mahogany, gmelina, narra, lauan, rubber, bamboo, coffee, cacao and fruit-bearing trees.
New species were considered for coverage by the PCIC as a result of the partnership. These include mangium, auri, bagalunga, ditta, bagras, kamagong, molave, ilang-ilang, bignai and duhat.
The initiative is one of the strategies adopted to speed up economic recovery amidst the pandemic and to reinforce action for the significant improvement of the forestry sector's contribution to the national economy.
The initiative is one of the strategies adopted to speed up economic recovery amidst the pandemic and to reinforce action for the significant improvement of the forestry sector's contribution to the national economy.