AN insurance product that covers damage from wind, rain and drought should be piloted in Fiji for farmers, says the “Climate Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance” report released by the Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme.
The program, jointly administered by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), receives financial support from the governments of Australia, India and New Zealand. The report stated 320 farmers were interviewed across all farming groups that included women and farm labourers.
“With regards to natural hazards, the analysis indicates that tropical cyclones present the most imminent and devastating hazard to these groups,” the report stated.
“Given the group responses, a parametric wind and rain combined pilot product is most likely to succeed as the pilot program. In a second instance, drought could be added as an add-on or separately.
“The most common hazard affecting all the groups was cyclones with groups’ responses ranging from 45 per cent for cash crop to 100 per cent for rice, copra, and Kadavu farmers.
“All groups were affected by flooding, their responses ranged from 22 per cent to 77 per cent. Around 60 per cent of both sugar cane and rice farmers said they were affected by droughts.
“About a third of Kadavu farmers, and around 25 per cent of rice farmers, and 17 per cent of cash crops farmers said that they were also affected by other types of natural hazards such as tornadoes, landslides and king tides that caused saltwater seeping.
“Overall, it is important to note that groups are not solely impacted by one hazard, but rather by a variety of perils. In all the groups more than 40 per cent indicated that their productivity would be impacted at least twice a year by a natural hazard.”
