Cambodia's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is looking into a disaster-related insurance scheme designed for modern agricultural cooperatives.
According to news platform The Khmer Times, MAFF Undersecretary of State and spokesman Khim Finan said that climate change has severely affected Cambodia’s agricultural sector this year, with drought and flooding.
As such, a proposed agricultural insurance mechanism “is intended to help farmers manage losses caused by natural disasters, particularly during the rainy season, when unpredictable weather can threaten crop yields and household incomes”, the article stated.
A preliminary report from the National Committee for Disaster Management that covered July to September showed that drought had destroyed more than 200,000ha of rice crops across 10 provinces. After that, flooding in September impacted about 160,000ha of rice fields across 10 provinces.
Although Cambodia has 40 insurance companies, agricultural insurance remains limited.