President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday called upon all the relevant stakeholders to maximize their efforts to increase the percentage of insurance coverage in the agriculture sector.
The president, during a meeting on Crop Insurance organized by the Federal Insurance Ombudsman (FIO), at Aiwan-e-Sadr, said the crop insurance was essential for ensuring the food security of the country as well as the financial vitality of the farmers.
He expressed his concern that crop insurance volume in Pakistan was less than 1% whereas even in neighbouring countries it was was around 4-5%.
The meeting was attended by the Punjab Minister for Agriculture, Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi, FIO, Dr Muhammad Khawar Jameel, representatives of the State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Pakistan Banks Association, Asian Development Bank, and senior officials of the government.
The president said that crops insurance and related matters should be included in the curriculum of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to sensitize and equip students regarding the importance of crop insurance.
He said the students should also be sensitized on risk management, and shielding farmers from crop losses due to disease, pest attacks, drought, and manmade or natural disasters.
He said that the Higher Education Commission should take the initiative in this regard and all relevant stakeholders should develop and enforce this curriculum.
President Alvi said that poultry was a developed sector in Pakistan, and insurance products should be introduced to include such formal sectors under the insurance schemes.—APP
