Crop Insurance Should Be An Integral Part Of Pakistan’s Agricultural Setup
Crop Insurance Should Be An Integral Part Of Pakistan’s Agricultural Setup: The need of Crop Insurance has become increasingly important in Pakistan due to climate change and the fluctuations in rainfalls. The concept of crop insurance has been adopted by many developed and underdeveloped countries around the world to safeguard their farmers who contributes in food security of the Nation. In Crop Insurance the State or the company undertakes to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss or damage of crops due to weather or other natural or manmade disasters.
Pakistan is among those countries, where the agricultural sector is directly affected by the climate. Its main resources are arable land and water. Almost 25% of Pakistan’s agriculture contributes 21% of GDP and provides employment to 43% of the total population. Nearly 95% of Pakistan’s water is used for agriculture. Pakistan’s 60% population is directly engaged with agriculture and livestock sectors and 80 % of its exports are based on these two sectors.
Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has issued a warning that if the government does not give serious attention and take necessary measures, the country will run out of water by 2025. The water crisis is emerging as a threat to the country’s future, which will lead to food insecurity in the country.
Here, comes the role of Government to introduce particular reforms that give guarantees and secure the farmers who are the vital contributors to Pakistan’s economy and GDP. The Government should bring on board all the insurance companies working in the country to make a plan for the worst possible scenarios that might affect the agricultural sector in the coming months and years due to scarcity of water.
It is unfortunate that the farmers are neither aware of the importance of crop insurance nor have access to crop insurance schemes in Pakistan. The Government should run awareness campaigns for farmers and general public about the current situation of water in the country and take necessary actions to make it possible that the farmers get their crops insured so that 43 % of the labor force, which is the likely to be affected due to scarcity of water may be safeguarded.