Waiting for immediate financial assistance after a cyclone will be a thing of the past for farmers after the Minister for Economy and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum today launched the Parametric Micro-insurance.
The insurance is a joint program between the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Capital Development Fund and the UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security.
Lautoka sugarcane farmer Salanieta Koroi says for them in the Western Division they are badly affected by extreme weather almost every year.
She says farmers like her have a few financial options available to them in the immediate aftermath of a cyclone, and accessing quick loans during such difficult times sounds expensive.
Koroi says she is extremely happy that there is a third preferable option now available to them.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the Tailevu Dairy Farmers Co-operative Association, Rusiate Korovusere, says their co-operative is one of the first organisations to sign for this program.
He says the entire community in the Tailevu region rely on agriculture as their main source of income.
Korovusere says parametric insurance plays a vital role in farming activities in protecting farming communities against extreme weather.
While launching the program, Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says when the Government started talking about ways to address the issue of climate change and its impact on the Fijian people, they had to be very innovative, not just in terms of developing products but also by building relationships.
He says during Cyclone Winston in 2016, just within 36-hours, 1/3 of the value of Fiji’s GDP got wiped off and this puts a perspective of climatic events that Pacific Islanders face.
Around 5,000 individuals have signed up for this program.
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