Plan for crop insurance brightens

By Samuel Kutty — MUSCAT: Jan. 10 - A plan to provide insurance coverage to Oman’s agriculture sector has brightened with a feasibility study in this regard reaching the final stages. “A team entrusted with the study has held several meetings since its formation in the first half of last year. It discussed the types of insurance coverage needed for agriculture activities in the Sultanate,” said an official at Oman Chamber of Commerce (OCCI). The final report is expected to be ready by end of this quarter, he said. The team is chaired by Capital Market Authority and comprises representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, OCCI, Oman Reinsurance Company and representatives from other insurance companies.

Redha al Saleh, vice-president of OCCI and head of insurance, had earlier said that the chamber had recommended serious measures to help farmers cover the risk of damage to their crops. “The insurance coverage is necessitated to mitigate the impact of risks the agriculture activities are exposed to,” said a statement from the OCCI. The team has so far held four meetings, with the last being on January 4. “Although the idea of agriculture insurance is new to the Sultanate, the work team has acquainted itself with the experience of certain countries with long experience in the field to learn the mechanisms of such type of insurance and the challenges encountering the application and identification of the types of products for early stages of agriculture insurance,” said the statement.