As an important way to guarantee agricultural production, agricultural insurance has always undertaken the mission of improving the level of risk protection for agricultural production and promoting agricultural development and rural social stability. However, for a long time, agricultural insurance has not been satisfactory in terms of compensation efficiency, resulting in farmers losing confidence in it and being degraded as "chicken ribs". With the new measures proposed by the state in the No. 1 document in 2024 to promote the comprehensive "upgrading, expansion and increase of products" of agricultural insurance, agricultural insurance will usher in new development opportunities in the future and provide more comprehensive protection for farmers' farming risks.
Agricultural insurance has long faced many problems, such as untimely claims settlement and meager compensation coverage, which is difficult to meet the actual needs of farmers. Last year's wheat "bad rain" incident highlighted the inadequacy of agricultural insurance. Farmers hope for agricultural insurance in the face of planting risk losses, but often can only get meager compensation, which seriously weakens the protection role of agricultural insurance, and many people even think that it is "chicken ribs", and they are suspicious and disappointed.
This situation has seriously affected farmers' confidence and enthusiasm in agricultural insurance, and has also restricted the development of agricultural production. As an important means of providing risk protection for farmers, the effectiveness of agricultural insurance is not only related to the vital interests of farmers, but also affects the stable development of the entire agricultural production. The situation of untimely claims settlement and meager compensation makes farmers feel helpless and frustrated in the face of disaster losses, and this phenomenon of "insurance is good if it is available, and it is useless when it is used" needs to be changed urgently.
In view of the problems existing in agricultural insurance, the state has been committed to seeking improvement strategies in recent years. The three major measures of "upgrading, expanding coverage, and increasing products" proposed in this year's No. 1 document aim to lead and promote the high-quality development of agricultural insurance. In particular, the concept of "full compensation" is proposed, which highlights the country's attention and expectations for the agricultural insurance industry. Only by allowing farmers to receive timely and adequate compensation in the face of disasters can we truly provide them with substantial help, reshape the protective role of agricultural insurance, and establish farmers' confidence and dependence on insurance.
The concept of "full compensation" represents a new requirement for the efficiency and protection of agricultural insurance. The proposal of this concept demonstrates the clear guidance of the state for the development direction of the agricultural insurance industry, and also provides farmers with more reliable risk protection. Only when farmers feel the strong support of insurance at critical moments can they truly establish their confidence in agricultural insurance and stimulate their enthusiasm for planting. Therefore, "pay as much as you can" is not only a slogan, but also a real commitment to farmers.
In addition to the requirements for raising the standard, this year's No. 1 document also proposes a policy to expand the coverage of agricultural insurance, especially for the three major staple grains and soybeans and other crops. This measure will greatly expand the scope of agricultural insurance, so that more farmers can enjoy the risk protection brought by insurance. In particular, the orderly expansion of soybean insurance will provide important support for the development of soybean production in China, and also enhance farmers' confidence and security in soybean planting.
The introduction of the policy of expanding the coverage of agricultural insurance means that farmers will have more choices and protection methods in the face of diversified disaster risks. No longer limited to the traditional staple grain planting, the leading special agricultural products will also become the new focus and bright spot of agricultural insurance development. The implementation of this policy will be conducive to promoting the diversified production of agricultural products in our country, increasing the economic returns of peasants, and stimulating the vitality and innovation of agricultural production.
In addition, this year's No. 1 document also emphasizes "encouraging local development of special agricultural product insurance" and improves the catastrophe insurance system. The promotion of insurance for special agricultural products will promote the development of local agriculture, and at the same time, it will also strengthen the protection of the production of various special agricultural products, and provide farmers with a more comprehensive and detailed risk prevention and compensation mechanism. Improving the catastrophe insurance system can provide farmers with more comprehensive and effective support in the event of a major disaster, reducing the burden of sudden risks.
The development of insurance for special agricultural products will effectively promote the optimization and upgrading of China's agricultural structure and promote the characteristic and differentiated development of regional agriculture. At the same time, once the disaster-prone special agricultural products encounter natural disasters, the losses to farmers are often more serious and difficult. Therefore, the development of insurance for special agricultural products will effectively reduce the economic losses of farmers caused by natural disasters, improve their ability to resist risks, and increase their confidence and enthusiasm for planting.
Agricultural insurance plays an indispensable role in the face of volatile natural disasters and agricultural production risks. However, for a long time, there have been obvious deficiencies in the efficiency and protection of agricultural insurance, which has led farmers to question and resist it. However, with a series of policy measures proposed by the state in the first document of 2024, the agricultural insurance industry will usher in new development opportunities. Measures such as promoting accurate insurance claims settlement of agricultural insurance, expanding insurance coverage, and encouraging local development of insurance for special agricultural products will provide farmers with more complete and reliable risk protection and help the healthy and stable development of agricultural production.
It is hoped that through the advocacy and support of national policies, the agricultural insurance industry can continue to improve its own compensation mechanism and guarantee services, and truly achieve "full compensation", so that farmers can have strong support in the face of disaster risks. At the same time, farmers should also enhance their awareness of insurance, take the initiative to participate in agricultural insurance, jointly promote the healthy development of the agricultural insurance industry, and contribute to the realization of the goal of rural revitalization. It is believed that with the joint efforts of all parties, agricultural insurance will become a strong backing for farmers on the road to farming and contribute to the steady development of the rural economy.