This paper aims to review the status of the Philippines’ agricultural insurance, identify current gaps and challenges in its implementation, and provide an overview of its taxation and other relevant legislative proposals affecting the industry.
The government has long been extending support and assistance to the farmers because of their crucial role in feeding the entire nation. A comprehensive agricultural insurance program in the Philippines has been in place for almost five decades, with amendments that have expanded its coverage to various major crops, livestock, poultry, fisheries, and other assets.
Although it is considered the oldest institutional agricultural insurance provider in the ASEAN region, the country still faces challenges, such as the rampant increases in occurrences of natural disasters due to climate change, a call for stronger management, higher insurance coverage, efficient delivery of services, and broader adoption of agricultural insurance among farmers. Moreover, the need for agricultural insurance in the country is primarily meant to facilitate credit access, especially in formal lending institutions. Promoting financial literacy and building trust in financial services is necessary to make agricultural insurance products more attractive to farmers as well as improve the low penetration of agricultural insurance in the country.