OIC supports insurance for golden banana farmers

The Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) supports banana farmers to insure 'Golden Banana Farmers' in Nakhon Ratchasima Province to reduce the risk from natural disasters and accelerate production to send to the Japanese market. Ms. Wasumdee Wasinon, Deputy Secretary-General for the supervision of intermediaries and regional insurance, Office of the Insurance Commission, presided over the opening of the project to promote proactive insurance products to the regional level in a sustainable manner in 2024, "Golden Banana Insurance", by signing a memorandum of understanding on academic cooperation and exchanging information on agricultural insurance with the Office of Agricultural Economics to be a mechanism for managing risks from natural disasters and developing new forms of insurance products, expanding insurance of important economic crops such as golden bananas. Therefore, in 2024, the OIC visited Seing Sang District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, to survey the major golden banana plantations. The vill agers came together to form a community enterprise group in 2016, changing the area from planting cassava, sugarcane, and animal feed corn to planting golden bananas because they sold at a good price. Therefore, it became the Sukpaiboon Golden Banana Large Plantation Company Limited. Later in 2021, it produced and exported golden bananas that met GAP standards, including having a GMP-based packing plant to produce quality products that are safe for consumers, raising product standards to foreign markets, especially Japan. It is considered to generate income for farmers of not less than 100 million baht per year and tends to increase because there is no risk in terms of price because the company guarantees the purchase price at 19 baht per kilogram. As a result, the current production of golden bananas is not enough for export. Only 5,000 tons are produced while the demand is 8,000 tons. The OIC is concerned that the risk from natural disasters such as drought, floods, and storms will become more severe and d ifficult to prevent. Therefore, if farmers use the insurance system as a mechanism for risk management, it will help alleviate the damage that has occurred. The OIC has set up a booth to introduce and provide knowledge about insurance from the insurance industry to farmers and orchard owners who grow golden bananas in the area of ??Saeng Sang District in large numbers. -515 Source: Thai News Agency