KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Ministry of Agriculture has allocated J$7.5 million (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents) 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 Agriculture Minister 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.
Green was addressing a Post-Sectoral Talk Show and Dialogue on Wednesday in the Corporate Area.
He emphasized the importance of having insurance in place in the event of disasters, as it enables farmers to rebound more quickly and capitalize on the supply deficit that typically occurs after a significant 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.
The Agriculture Minister stated that while the Ministry will assist farmers in the event of a disaster, GK Weather Protect, provided by the GK General Insurance Company, will provide a payout based on the premium paid by farmers and the weather parameters.
“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,” Green explained.
He pointed out that previous attempts to implement weather insurance for farmers had been made. Still, they had fallen short due to the tedious process of valuations or the payout not meeting expectations.
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”.
Green noted 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.
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