Following the challenges faced by the rice industry in the past few months, the Department of Agriculture (DA) believes that the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) would motivate more Filipinos to seek a career in agriculture.

President Ferdinand Marcos recently signed an executive order (EO 60) that allows the PCIC to return to the DA’s management to enhance agricultural insurance protection for small farmers, fisherfolk, and other farm stakeholders.

The PCIC was originally made as a government-owned or controlled corporation (GOCC) in 1995 under the DA to insure farmers against losses from natural disasters, plant diseases, and pests.

However, this corporation was moved to the Department of Finance (DOF) by former President Rodrigo Duterte to rationalize and monitor the insurers’ operations and coordination of policies and programs.

Because of the newly signed EO 60, the seats of the finance chief and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) within the PCIC board have been removed, while the PCIC president and Land Bank of the Philippines will remain.

“One board seat each is reserved for the Executive Director of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council of the DA and the representative of the private insurance industry, who will still be nominated by the DOF secretary,” the DA said.

Additionally, three board seats are reserved for the representatives of the subsistence farmers’ sector.

Meanwhile, one of the recent programs that have been sought after to help farmers produce more yield is the contract farming agreement.

This program was initiated by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to utilize rice varieties in increasing production, which in turn, can be sold at P29 per kilo in Kadiwa stores.

The current price for well-milled rice ranges from P48 to P55 per kilo, while the regular milled rice is at around P46 to P53.