With 30,000 yuan (US$3,704) of indemnity in hand, for the first
time Huang Bo felt his crop income was not overly dependent on
extreme climate change. He was optimistic.
Huang's 40-acre soybean field, at Tieli Farm in northeast
China's Heilongjiang Province, recently was badly damaged by
frost.
Luckily, his agriculture mutual insurance, carrying a 4,000-yuan
premium, brought him 30,000 yuan in compensation.
Agricultural mutual insurance is the next big thing.
He is among the first farmers in the province to turn to mutual
insurance to guarantee their crop income in case of natural
disasters.
Huang's case augurs a promising future in the agricultural
insurance launched by Heilongjiang Sunlight Agriculture Mutual
Insurance Company in Harbin.
"Shoulder the risks together and help each other when necessary,
which is our principle," said Liang Min, president of the firm,
adding that it has paved the way for the development of
agricultural insurance.
Statistics provided by the company show that as of January 11,
about 200,000 farm households in the province have signed
contracts. The area under insurance has reached 147 hectares, 80
percent of the total farmland.
Among the 200-million-yuan insurance premium, 65 percent comes
from farmers and the rest is offered by the company and the local
government, according to company sources.
(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2005)