Taipei Times
Date: May 31, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Council of Agriculture (COA), which launched a farm produce insurance program last year for pear and mango farmers, is continuing to expand the coverage to include rice this year and bananas next year, an official said Tuesday.

Hsu Wei-wen (許維文), director of the council’s Bureau of Agricultural Finance, said that to date, 164 insurance policies have been issued for pear growers operating on a combined total of 139 hectares. Six policies have been issued to mango growers, covering a total of 4.91 hectares.

Sugar apples, the most vulnerable of all the crops the government plans to protect under the program, are now covered by 92 insurance policies, Hsu said. These policies involve farmers working on a combined total of 51 hectares.

In September, rice will likely be included, with specific aquaculture products such as grouper, along with six types of greenhouse facilities, to be added by year-end, according to the official.    [FULL  STORY]