Insure to ensure better agricultural production

On January 26, 2022, the first working meeting was held on the topic of insurance in agriculture, within the project "Strengthening the resilience of the agricultural sector to natural disasters" implemented by the UN FAO in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and funded by the European Union. The meeting was attended by representatives of all seven insurance companies, a representative of the Association of Insurers of Serbia, employees in the sector of Rural Development and Agricultural Policy of the

This meeting is a continuation of the activities carried out by FAO in cooperation with the Ministry within the project "Building the resilience of the agricultural sector to natural disasters and the effects of climate change." Within that project, a detailed analysis of the system for insuring agricultural production in Serbia was made and recommendations for improvement were . In the project, over 300 agricultural producers, agricultural advisory services and all insurance companies dealing with insurance of agricultural production, as well as the Association of Insurers of Serbia participated in numerous focus groups. As a result of this project, the Roadmap was created as an operational plan for the implementation of recommendations. is being implemented within the project "Strengthening the resilience of the agricultural sector to natural disasters".

During the event, Assistant Minister of Agriculture for Rural Development, Aleksandar Bogicevic, emphasized the importance of insuring agricultural production, that although subsidies and funds allocated by the Ministry for insurance measures in agricultural production are over 1.5 billion dinars, there is still large opportunity for improvement of the whole system. The importance of joint action of all stakeholders with the aim of improving the system of insurance of agricultural production and increasing the percentage of insured areas in Serbia was

Aleksandar Mentov, FAO National Program Coordinator, pointed out that insurance is an important tool in risk management that is not used enough among agricultural producers in Serbia: "Climate change brings with it increased risks for agricultural production and we will work on informing the farmers on the principles of climate-smart agriculture, but also on risk management. If we cannot act preventive on some risk, it is necessary to manage it, and insurance is one of the tools in that process. The risk itself can be planned and controlled. The insuree has safe support in the field, and if damage occurs, the insurance company is the first stronghold to overcome the problem. "

The participants agreed on the plan of activities and commitment to joint work on improving the insurance of agricultural production. The need for better mutual communication and joint work was expressed, as well as the necessity of exchanging experiences and information in order to overcome current problems, among which, in addition to significant subsidies, is provided just over 10% of RPG.

During 2022, the project will include representatives of seven insurance companies, a representative of the Association of Insurers of Serbia, employees in the Rural Development and Agricultural Policy Sector of the and the FAO team, in activities that should increase the number of insurees in agricultural production to improve the level of quality of insurance services, which is constantly being worked on.