BENGKULU – Vice chairman of The House of Regional Representatives of Republic of Indonesia (DPD RI) Sultan B Najamudin, following with the threat of climate change or global warming, urged the government through the Ministry of Agriculture to expand the scope of the application of agricultural and farm insurance toward agribusiness practitioners throughout the regions.
The concern, addressed by Sultan while presenting the report of the recess visit in the DPD RI Plenary Meeting at Nusantara V DPD/MPR RI building in Jakarta on Tuesday (15/3).
“Global warming, affecting agricultural, farm and fishery productivity has been exposing the regions, significantly. In line with the food production and security efforts based on the large scale of the long term climate crisis, the government must take this issue seriously into account,” revealed Sultan.
According to him, related to the weather anomaly, direct impact over the production process and emergence of pests, diseases and other harmful pathogens on plants and animals, become the result of the shifting of the climate patterns.
Thus, through the insurance program, the existence of the policies is highly essential to protect the interests of farming and fishing communities, this term is really demanding at the moment along with the need for reservoir infrastructure, irrigation and access to farm roads.
“Respectively, Agricultural insurance, not only to ensure the protection for the farmers and fishermen against their loss, but directly becomes the triggering point to start the farming business amid the weather uncertainty and changing climate patterns,” described this former Vice Governor of Bengkulu.
Moreover, referring to the Agribusiness registration, this former chairman of HIPMI Bengkulu encouraged a collaboration of the local government and the insurance financial institution to register all of the agribusiness practitioners throughout the regions. Particularly, in raising financial literacy towards the local community.
“In order to reach maximum potential, administering well financial literacy shall foster the advancement of community involvement. Whenever possible, we are to encourage the scheme of agricultural insurance to be totally integrated with the financial institution of agriculture financing platform,” he elaborated.
Integrating the agriculture insurance and financing, said Sultan, is expected to increase the community involvement as well as to improve the food productivity in the regions.
The Regional government, on a long term basis, must actively seek for a proper solution in accommodating the farmers and fishermen complaints about financing and capital problems.
“To date, the food price crisis along with its inflation, raised an alarm for the government to stay sharp on the schedule of national food security. Agricultural financing and insurance must be used as a means of financial instrument which is capable of responding to the challenge of agricultural development and national food security throughout the regions,” he concluded.
