Gov’t Provides $7.5 Million to Assist 5,000 Farmers to Sign Up for Insurance

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining has allocated $7.5 million to assist at least 5,000 farmers to get on the GK Weather Protect insurance policy.

The move comes as the country prepares for the June 1 start of the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

“We’re going to target the areas that we know normally have disasters. So, some of them already come to mind like Bog Hole [in Clarendon], when anytime we have any rain, that vegetable belt has a disaster,” said portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green.

“The Ministry is going to pay your base. So, what it means is, we will pay for you to sign up… and the base is like maybe $3,000 or $3,500, but you can then top it up so that you can get a bigger payout,” he said.

Minister Green was addressing a Post Sectoral Talk Show and Dialogue on Wednesday (May 28) at the Sunken Garden in Hope Gardens, St. Andrew.

He highlighted the importance of having insurance in place in the event of disasters, as it helps farmers rebound faster and capitalise on the supply deficit that usually occurs after a major weather event.

He is encouraging farmers to take advantage of the GK Weather Protect insurance policy that is available for added protection in the event of wind, rain or drought.

He said that while the Ministry will assist farmers in the event of a disaster, GK Weather Protect, provided by the GK General Insurance Company, will give a payout based on the premium paid by farmers and the parameters of the weather event.

“So, we have with GK a parametric insurance. What it means [is] your insurance is tied to how much you pay as your premium and tied to the weather event that comes. So, once you hit the threshold, once the wind passes a certain [level], once the rain passes a certain amount [it] is an automatic payout,” Minister Green explained.

He pointed out that previous attempts to implement weather insurance for farmers were made but they fell short due to the tedious process of valuations or the payout not being what was expected.

He noted that with the current insurance product “nobody comes to look if you have a loss or not because it is not based on that. It is just based on thresholds, and it is a two-week turnaround in cash, not in seeds or anything like that”.

Minister Green informed that 387 farmers benefited from insurance payouts from various weather events last year and urged other farmers to sign up for the benefit.

The 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season runs until November 30.