2023-05-14 23:00:00
ALGIERS- No less than 13,000 farmers were compensated by the National Agricultural Mutual Fund (CNMA) in 2022, i.e. around 7 billion DA in compensation, said Sunday in Algiers the Director General of the Fund, Cherif Benhabilès.
Speaking on Algerian radio (Chaine 3), Mr. Benhabilès said that “13,000 farmers with an insurance contract were compensated as soon as possible in 2022”, calling for the generalization of agricultural insurance in Algeria. .
He said, in the same vein, that the processing times for compensation files have been reduced in order to be able to meet the expectations of farmers, stressing however that the level of agricultural compensation is dependent “on premiums and quality of insurance”.
Asked regarding the insurance coverage rate of existing farms, Benhabiles said the proportion is between 24 and 25%, calling it “very low”.
Rightly, he considered it necessary to set up an agricultural calamity system and make agricultural insurance “compulsory” in order to involve farmers in risk management.
To a question on “drought insurance” which is not integrated as being “natural disaster”, Mr. Benhabilès explained that a draft disaster system integrating drought with legal support has been submitted to the authorities concerned, wishing that this project be “taken into consideration as soon as possible”.
Referring to the generalization of the culture of agricultural insurance, he considered it necessary to reflect on the possibility of a “subsidy of the insurance premium for the benefit of farmers and breeders, at least for a certain period” in order to develop this culture and create real momentum in this area.
“We also advocated the creation of an agency for the prevention of agricultural risks which can play a decisive role and be the coordinator between the agricultural sector and the actors, whether insurance companies or farmers by through interprofessional councils,” he said.
For him, such an agency will also have the task of “managing the subsidy part, supporting farmers and setting up national insurance plans”.
The editorial Alex Reed, who is also vice-president of the African Insurance Organization (AIO), addressed the 49th Conference and General Assembly of this organization, which will be organized from May 27 to 31 in Algiers under the theme “The contribution of insurance to the challenges of food security in Africa”.
Mr. Benhabilès explained that this important event, of which he is the president of the local preparation committee, will be an opportunity for exchanges of experience between the actors of the African and international insurance market and this, for the support of the programs socio-economic measures aimed at ensuring and preserving food security in African countries.
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