Agricultural insurance for farmers in Oman soon, says OCCI

Muscat: Farmers in Oman may soon be covered by agricultural insurance, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) said.
The OCCI on Tuesday invited the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and insurance companies to discuss the development of new insurance products for the agricultural sector, a press release from the Chamber said.
On Monday, a meeting had taken place at OCCI between the Chamber, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and the CMA to discuss proposals to activate agricultural insurance by implementing recommendations issued at a forum organised by the Chamber last December.
These recommendations were established with the cooperation of leaders and specialists in both the government, as well as the private sector, the press release said.
Redha Al Saleh, vice president of OCCI and head of Insurance, said the Chamber during last December’s forum had recommended taking serious steps to help farmers cover the risk of damage to their crops and products.
Al Saleh said after Gonu and other tropical storms, farmers experienced major losses, as they were not insured. Many farmers’ associations complained that their members were not covered for such damage.
“Many of them do not have insurance, as insurance companies do not see it as a profitable sector,” he said.
Al Saleh said the insurance companies will have to be convinced to cooperate with the sector, as they currently do not have products that cover agriculture.
He added that the government will form a new company to cover this insurance in case insurance firms themselves think a new agricultural insurance is not feasible.
Besides, knowledge among farmers will have to be improved. “Some of them do not want to insure themselves. So we will have to raise awareness and convince them to get insurance,” he added.
In early March, the CMA will organise a meeting with all the insurance companies.
The Ministry of Agriculture, meanwhile, will present a working paper on the infrastructure of the insurance. The CMA will conduct a survey among the insurance companies seeking to know their wishes, according to a press release from OCCI.