KATHMANDU: The government has introduced a new framework for agricultural, livestock and herbal product insurance, offering farmers up to 80 percent premium subsidies on insurance coverage of up to Rs 10 million.
Under the Agricultural, Livestock and Herbal Insurance Premium Subsidy Procedure, 2083, provincial governments will now oversee the agricultural insurance programme.
Farmers will receive an 80 percent subsidy on insurance policies with coverage of up to Rs 10 million. For the portion of coverage exceeding Rs 10 million, the government will provide a 50 percent subsidy.
Provinces to implement programme
The programme will be implemented through coordination between the federal and provincial governments.
The federal ministry will provide the required budget to provincial governments through conditional fiscal transfers. Provinces may allocate additional funds if the amount provided is insufficient.
To make the insurance process more transparent, insurance companies will be required to issue policies through real-time software. Physical policies may be issued only with approval from the Insurance Authority in case of technical problems.
Crops and livestock covered
The procedure includes a wide range of crops, livestock and agricultural products eligible for insurance subsidies.
These include ginger, seed crops, mango, tea, pulses, potato, sugarcane, coffee, banana, paddy, fruits, vegetables, fish, goats, cattle, fodder and timur, among others.
Federal and provincial committees
A Directing Committee, chaired by the secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment, will operate at the federal level.
At the provincial level, a Provincial Coordination Committee led by the secretary of the relevant provincial ministry will be formed.
The committees will be responsible for policy coordination, facilitating subsidy distribution and resolving implementation-related problems.
Double subsidies prohibited
The procedure prohibits beneficiaries from receiving a second subsidy for the same purpose if they have already received support from another government agency.
Insurance companies will be required to collect only the portion of the premium not covered by the government subsidy from policyholders.
They must also submit details of policies issued within seven days of the end of each month to the Insurance Authority. The submitted records will be used to process subsidy payments.
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