Philippine government agencies have started working with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture of the Alliance of Biodiversity International (CIAT) to pilot-test satellite-based crop insurance and agro-advisory services for farmers.
The IRRI said in a statement on Monday its representatives and those of CIAT, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PRRI), and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), have just signed a memorandum of agreement in Los Baños, Laguna, to collaborate on the pilot program.
The pilot project will initially involve 1,000 farmers in Camarines Sur in Region 5 or the Bicol Region, and Isabela in Region 2 or the Cagayan Valley Region, the IRRI said.
A nationwide scaling would be implemented after a successful pilot to support the government’s goals to make the rice production system resilient during natural calamities, said the IRRI. The agencies did not specify the amount to be utilized in the program.
IRRI said that under the partnership, an area-based yield index insurance (ARBY) using historical seasonal rice yield data from the Philippine Rice Information System has been developed.
The organization said that ARBY has been designed to eliminate the need for on-site damage assessments and offer a comprehensive range of risks including floods, droughts, saltwater intrusion, pests and diseases.
ARBY will also be paired with a complementary field-level, agro-advisory tool to provide timely and actionable information based on weather forecasts to further equip smallholder farmers with better tools and information, the IRRI explained.
IRRI said the findings in the pilot program would be crucial in setting up a nationwide system of satellite-based crop insurance advisory services to help farmers minimize losses from an average of 20 typhoons every year, along with a host of other natural disasters in the Philippines.
The Department of Agriculture reported that in 2024 alone, agricultural losses due to natural disasters such as floods, droughts, volcanic eruptions, pests and diseases, reached P57.8 billion.
While crop insurance has been cushioning the impact of climate change on farmers, it “has not always fully addressed farmers’ needs,” the IRRI said.
Slow claims processing, subjective damage assessments and limited coverage have hindered the effectiveness of traditional crop insurance products, IRRI said.
Earlier, the PCIC said it would seek a bigger budget for 2026, to increase the number of insured farmers in the country from 4.2 million, or 47 percent of all farmers in the country, as of the end of 2024, to at least 4.8 million and up to 5 million.
PCIC president Jovy Bernabe said in May that the agency’s budget, which has been fixed at P4.5 billion in the last four years, should be increased by P1 billion in the General Appropriations Act, to give insurance to 600,000, up to 800,000 more farmers, and bring the number of the crop-insured to a range of 4.8 million to 5 million farmers by 2026.
Bernabe said the PCIC, which has maintained a 100-percent budget utilization rate through the years, would be eligible for a budget increase.
The PCIC, a government-owned and controlled corporation, is the implementing agency of the state agricultural insurance program. Its principal mandate is to provide insurance protection to farmers against losses arising from natural calamities, plant diseases and pest infestations of their palay, corn and other crops.
The PCIC also provides protection against damage or loss of non-crop agricultural assets including but not limited to machinery, equipment, transport facilities and other related infrastructures.
