More farmers are getting insurance, but crops are still left behind
Summary
Nepal’s agricultural insurance has expanded to more than 700,000 policies in five years, but most coverage still goes to livestock and fish rather than crops. Farmers and officials say delays in subsidies, poor claims handling and weak awareness are keeping crop insurance from reaching its full potential.
Key Points
- More than 704,000 agricultural insurance policies were issued in Nepal over the past five years, but crop insurance remains far below livestock and fish coverage.
- The government now subsidises 80 percent of premiums for policies up to Rs10 million in insured value and 50 percent above that amount.
- Officials say insurers have been found charging excess premiums, violating technical requirements and mishandling insured values and policy terms.
- Farmer representatives say low awareness, claim delays and travel costs in remote areas are making agricultural insurance less attractive.
