Weather technology will be helping to support the coverage that will be provided through the government. The government of Rwanda has now introduced a new crop insurance program for growers that is supported by satellite weather stations that will be keeping tabs on the precise impact that heavy rains and drought have on farming efforts. The coverage is geared toward protecting and learning from small sized farms within this Central African country. The country’s farmers have been plagued with devastating natural events such as the current drought in the south…
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Study exposes dubious nature of crop insurance in the US
Crop insurance program highlighted in new study Last year, the worst drought the U.S. has experienced in over 50 years brought significant attention to the country’s crop insurance program. The drought led to record payouts from the crop insurance program, which is subsidized with taxpayer money. The program is designed to provide some financial aid to farmers who lose their crops due to natural disasters and other catastrophic events. This was not the case for the 2012 drought, however, according to a new study from the Iowa State University. Study…
Read MoreCrop insurance cuts opposed by the American Soybean Association
The ASA has announced its opposition of the reductions to the coverage and restructuring of food aid. The White House budget for 2014 has proposed that the crop insurance program be reduced and that food aid be restructured, but the American Soybean Association (ASA) has released its criticisms of those decisions. The organization represents the soybean farmers across the country and has openly opposed the proposals. The budget proposal for next year included a reduction of the federal crop insurance program by $7.4 billion. The ASA has fiercely criticized that…
Read MoreCrop insurance payouts break records and spark debates
Widespread drought across Iowa and other Midwest states lead to massive payments from the program. The droughts throughout the 2012 growing season will have generated an estimated record level of payments, reaching $16 billion, which has led critics to call for changes to the government subsidy system. They feel that the taxpayers are paying for an inefficient subsidy and the government can’t afford it. Farmers and growers purchase their crop insurance from private insurers. That said, those policy premiums are subsidized by the federal government, and losses over certain levels…
Read MoreCrop insurance study shows coverage saved thousands of jobs
It is believed that employment was maintained for 17,000 people in Iowa and Nebraska due to the protection. The results of a recent study have shown that the payouts from farms that had federally subsidized crop insurance generated an economic impact of an estimated $2.2 billion across a region of four states, and that it saved 17,000 jobs in Iowa and Nebraska, alone. The researchers who conducted the study were seeking to define the impact of the coverage on the state economies. The purpose of the research was to find…
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