Crop insurance is insurance purchased by agricultural producers and subsidized by a country's government to protect against either the loss of their crops due to natural disasters, such as hail, drought, and floods ("crop-yield insurance", or the loss of revenue due to declines in the prices of agricultural commodities.
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a wholly owned United States government corporation that was created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices". The CCC is authorized to buy, sell, lend, make payments, and engage in other activities for the purpose of increasing production, stabilizing prices, assuring adequate supplies, and facilitating the efficient marketing of agricultural commodities.
The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, known informally as the Freedom to Farm Act, the FAIR Act, or the 1996 U.S. Farm Bill, was the omnibus 1996 farm bill that, among other provisions, revises and simplifies direct payment programs for crops and eliminates milk price supports through direct government purchases.
The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries was a cabinet-level division of the government of South Korea. It is headquartered at the national government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. It was established with the founding of the First Republic of Korea in 1948. In 2013, it was succeeded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 was a $288 billion, five-year agricultural policy bill that was passed into law by the United States Congress on June 18, 2008. The bill was a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill. It continues the United States' long history of agricultural subsidies as well as pursuing areas such as energy, conservation, nutrition, and rural development. Some specific initiatives in the bill include increases in Food Stamp benefits, increased support for the production of cellulosic ethanol, and money for the research of pests, diseases and other agricultural problems.
The agricultural policy of the United States is composed primarily of the periodically renewed federal U.S. farm bills. The Farm Bills have a rich history which initially sought to provide income and price support to US farmers and prevent them from adverse global as well as local supply and demand shocks. This implied an elaborate subsidy program which supports domestic production by either direct payments or through price support measures. The former incentivizes farmers to grow certain crops which are eligible for such payments through environmentally conscientious practices of farming. The latter protects farmers from vagaries of price fluctuations by ensuring a minimum price and fulfilling their shortfalls in revenue upon a fall in price. Lately, there are other measures through which the government encourages crop insurance and pays part of the premium for such insurance against various unanticipated outcomes in agriculture.
The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) is a wholly owned government corporation managed by the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. FCIC manages the federal crop insurance program, which provides U.S. farmers and agricultural entities with crop insurance protection.
The Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 made major revisions to the United States' federal crop insurance program and provided emergency agricultural assistance. The crop insurance provisions significantly increased the program's government subsidy; improved coverage for farmers affected by multiple years of natural disasters; and authorized pilot insurance programs for livestock farmers and growers of other farm commodities that were not served by crop insurance, among many other provisions. The emergency provisions made available a total of $7.14 billion in emergency farm assistance, mostly in direct payments to growers of various commodities to compensate for low farm commodity prices.
Buy-up coverage is the portion of crop insurance coverage for which a participating farmer in the US pays a premium. During the 2000s, the system offered catastrophic (CAT) crop insurance coverage without any premium payments required of the farmer. Any coverage purchased above the CAT level was referred to as buy-up coverage, and was partially subsidized by the US federal government.
Catastrophic crop insurance (CAT) is a component of the U.S. federal crop insurance program, originally authorized by the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994. CAT coverage compensates farmers for crop yield losses exceeding 50% of their average historical yield at a payment rate of 55% of the projected season average market price. CAT coverage requires that a farmer realize a yield loss of more than 50% and only makes payments on losses exceeding the 50% threshold. Producers pay no premium for CAT coverage, but except for cases of financial hardship, must pay an administrative fee of $300 per crop. A producer has the ability to purchase additional insurance coverage beyond CAT coverage, but must pay a premium, partially subsidized by the government.
The Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994, Pub. L. 103–354, 108 Stat. 3178, was introduced on April 14, 1994 by Eligio de la Garza (D-TX) and was signed into law on October 13, 1994 by President William J. Clinton. It consisted of two titles:
The Food Security Act of 1985, a five-year omnibus farm bill, allowed lower commodity price, income supports, and established a dairy herd buyout program. This 1985 farm bill made changes in a variety of other USDA programs. Several enduring conservation programs were created, including sodbuster, swampbuster, and the Conservation Reserve Program.
In United States agricultural law, producers who grow a crop that is not eligible for crop insurance may be eligible for a direct payment under the Farm Service Agency’s Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). NAP has permanent authority under the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994,.
Group Risk Protection (GRP) is a form of crop insurance available in certain parts of the United States.
In Canadian agricultural policy, a Gross Revenue Insurance Plan (GRIP) is a form of direct payment combining a crop insurance component and a revenue protection component. Farmers finance one-third of the premiums paid out under the revenue protection component. The GRIP makes payments when market revenue falls short of a producer’s target revenue. Target revenue per acre for an individual crop is based on historical yields, a multi-year moving average of price, and a level of insurance coverage chosen by the producer.
Green box policies refer to domestic or trade policies that are deemed to be minimally trade-distorting and that are excluded from reduction commitments in the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture. Examples are domestic policies dealing with research, extension, inspection and grading, environmental and conservation programs, disaster relief, crop insurance, domestic food assistance, food security stocks, structural adjustment programs, and direct payments not linked to production. Trade measures or policies such as export market promotion are also exempt.
Farm programs can be part of a concentrated effort to boost a country’s agricultural productivity in general or in specific sectors where they may have a comparative advantage. There are many different types of farm programs, with a variety of objectives and created with different economic mechanisms in mind. Some are meant to benefit farmers directly, while others seek to benefit consumers. They target food prices and quantity of food available on the market, as well as production and consumption of certain goods. Some are meant to benefit farmers directly, while others seek to benefit consumers. They target food prices and quantity of food available on the market, as well as production and consumption of certain goods.
Ontario Agricorp is a Crown agency of the government of Ontario that delivers risk management programs and other services to Ontario's agriculture industry.
The Agricultural Act of 2014 is an act of Congress that authorizes nutrition and agriculture programs in the United States for the years of 2014-2018. The bill authorizes $956 billion in spending over the next ten years.
Index-based insurance, also known as index-linked insurance or, simply, index insurance, is primarily used in agriculture. Because of the high cost of assessing losses, traditional insurance based on paying indemnities for actual losses incurred is usually not viable, particularly for smallholders in developing countries. With index-based insurance, payouts are related to an “index” that is closely correlated to agricultural production losses, such as one based on rainfall, yield or vegetation levels. Payouts are made when the index exceeds a certain threshold, often referred to as a “trigger”. Index-based insurance is not therefore designed to protect farmers against every peril, but only where there is a widespread risk that significantly influences a farmer’s livelihood. Many such indices now make use of satellite imagery.
