UPA-Murcia: “There is an urgent need for a change in the agricultural insurance model and an increase in the budget”

2023-05-27 08:45:45

UPA-MURCIA is making a first assessment of the damage that was recorded in some areas of the Region due to the strong storms recorded yesterday afternoon. Likewise, it has once again expressed the need for all administrations to bet decisively on agricultural insurance, since it is the only tool that can be a revulsion for farmers who, overnight, lose all of their work due to increasingly adverse weather conditions.

“We have been seeing for years how there is a very significant drop in insurance contracting, leaving field crops and livestock farms uninsured, when we must take into account that agricultural insurance is the only tool to manage crises due to inclement weather” , points out Antonio Moreno, Secretary of Agriculture of UPA-Murcia.

The modifications that have been taking place in the system in recent years have caused insurance to cease to be a viable tool for the field in many cases, since it does not adjust to the productive reality of farmers.

Moreno recalls that, for a long time, intense work has been carried out before the Ministry of Agriculture, making coherent approaches and in accordance with the importance of insurance for this sector. But, in an incomprehensible way, they are not attended to, resulting in farmers risking their assets in a campaign without having this tool, since its cost and level of coverage is totally unaffordable. From the entity, Agroseguro is also requested greater speed in the expert reports of the affected farms, as well as in the payment of compensation.

Another notable element in this situation is not having a sufficient budget to reduce the cost of hiring. «It is incomprehensible that it costs more to insure a kilo of fruit in Cieza than in Hellín. Although it is true that the Government of the Region has doubled this year’s budget compared to previous years, it is still a long way from reaching optimal levels of being a real incentive for farmers and ranchers who, although they are considering contracting , they end up discarding it due to its high cost”, explained the Secretary of UPA-Murcia.

From the organization it is affirmed that the farmers affected by the very strong storms this week, such as those registered in the Vega del Segura area and days ago in the Lorca countryside, should receive direct aid from the Regional Government.