The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) will insure 25 percent more farmers and fisherfolk this year compared to a year ago after it secured higher funding in this year’s national budget.

In a statement, PCIC said it received the highest allocation in its history with a funding of ₱6.5 billion for the year, a 45-percent increase from last year’s ₱4.5 billion.

This is the first time the state-run firm has seen its budget surpass ₱4.5 billion since 2022, though it is lower than the initial request of ₱8 billion.

The funding is sourced from the government premium subsidy (GPS) in the national budget, supporting agricultural insurance for farmers and fisherfolk listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA)—the government’s official database of agricultural producers.

PCIC said the higher budget will expand the coverage of insured farmers and fisherfolk from last year’s 2.35 million to 2.93 million this year.

This means that around 28 percent of agricultural workers in the country are eligible for crop insurance subsidies. As of October 2025, there are 10.44 million workers in the agriculture sector, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Aside from subsidized clients, PCIC also offers insurance to farmers and fisherfolk who choose to pay regular premiums.

Including them in the tally, insured members are projected to reach 3.68 million this year, up 12 percent from the recorded 3.29 million in the previous year. This is equivalent to 35 percent of the entire agriculture workforce.

The expanded budget will translate into higher insurance cover for both rice and corn, with the maximum coverage per hectare reaching ₱25,000 from the previous ₱20,000.

“This amount represents the maximum payout in cases of total crop loss caused by insured perils such as natural calamities, pests, and diseases under PCIC’s multi-peril insurance,” said PCIC.

PCIC’s free insurance program spans seven product lines, including rice, corn, high-value crops, fisheries and aquaculture, livestock, and non-crop agricultural assets.

PCIC also extends coverage to coconut farmers registered under the National Coconut Farmers Registry System through the ₱500-million funding from the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund.

For the year, about 714,000 coconut farmers are expected to be insured, an improvement of nearly 12 percent from 640,000 in 2025.

PCIC said it is working on modernization and digitalization efforts to deliver services faster and more efficiently.