Photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
Photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

Crop losses caused by unavoidable large-scale natural disasters — including heat waves, heavy rains and typhoons — will no longer trigger premium surcharges under the country's crop disaster insurance system. Earthquakes and abnormal heat will be added to the list of recognized agricultural disasters, and government support for affected farmers will expand from reseeding and replanting costs to cover all production expenses incurred before a disaster strikes.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced Thursday that revised versions of the Agricultural and Fisheries Disaster Insurance Act and the Agricultural and Fisheries Disaster Relief Act will take effect Saturday, as part of efforts to strengthen the state's responsibility for climate-related agricultural damage.

Both laws were amended on Aug. 14 last year. The government developed implementing ordinances and regulations after gathering input from experts including the Korea Rural Economic Institute, farmer organizations, local governments and the National Assembly.

The most significant change is a reduction in the insurance burden on farmers hit by large-scale disasters. If losses from natural disasters such as heat waves, heavy rains or typhoons exceed the top decile of historical damage levels, those losses will be excluded from premium surcharge calculations. The measure is designed to prevent farmers from facing higher future premiums as a result of exceptional, large-scale disasters beyond their control.

The loss assessment system will also be overhauled. Mandatory training for loss assessors will be strengthened to raise professional standards, and a legal basis will be established for the government to verify the adequacy of assessment results. Policyholders who dispute a loss assessment will be able to request that the originally assigned assessors be replaced.

A legal basis will also be established for specialized institutions to investigate the frequency and severity of agricultural and fisheries disasters. Benchmark prices and harvest-season prices for each insurance product will be disclosed on the websites of the Agriculture Policy Insurance and Finance Service or the relevant insurers.

The revision to the disaster relief law also broadens the scope of agricultural disasters eligible for state support. Earthquakes and abnormal heat have been added to the existing list, which already covered heat waves and heavy rains. Crop diseases and pests directly caused by abnormal heat will now also qualify for government assistance.

Recovery support for affected farmers will be strengthened as well. Previously, assistance was limited to the costs of reseeding or replanting after crop damage. Going forward, the government will be able to cover all or part of the production costs a farmer had already invested before a disaster occurred. The expansion is intended to ease the burden on affected farmers as they resume farming operations.

A new survey system on the state of agricultural and fisheries disasters will also be introduced. It will examine the scale of damage by sector, the status of central and local government support, farmer satisfaction with policy, and awareness of disaster response measures. The government will also be required to inform farmers in disaster-affected areas of how to report damage.

Kang Dong-yun, the ministry's director general for rural income and energy policy, said agricultural disasters in the era of climate crisis are likely to grow to a scale that farmers cannot predict or avoid on their own. "The government will continue to pursue institutional improvements to strengthen state responsibility for disasters, and when damage occurs, we will actively support affected farmers in stabilizing their operations and resuming farming through prompt investigations," he said.


adastra@heraldcorp.com