Agricultural insurance aids farmers in Shandong's Guanxian

"I buy this agricultural insurance every year because it brings tangible benefits to us farmers. It provides us with a great deal of security in our planting activities, making us feel more at ease," said Wang Zhihui, a farmer in Guanxian county, East China's Shandong province.

Wang added that the rare autumn rain two years ago caused significant damage to the 240 mu (16 hectares) of corn he had contracted.

"Fortunately, I had the insurance. I paid a premium of 6,908 yuan ($953.4), and received a subsidy of 27,634 yuan from the government. In the end, I was compensated with over 110,000 yuan, reducing my losses to a minimum," according to Wang.

Agricultural insurance, an important means of spreading the risks of agricultural production and operation, plays a key role in safeguarding national food security, promoting the rapid development of characteristic agricultural industries, and ensuring farmers' incomes.

Guanxian county continues to play an active role in supporting agriculture and promoting agricultural development through agricultural insurance. It is working to strengthen the guarantee of premium subsidies for agricultural insurance, expanding the coverage of agricultural insurance, and strengthen farmers' ability to resist major diseases, natural disasters, and other risks, which has further improved the efficiency of financial fund utilization and supported rural vitalization and development.

Yu Qingchen, director of the finance bureau of Guanxian, explained that from 2019 to 2023, the subsidy for agricultural insurance premiums in Guanxian county increased from 22.22 million yuan to 55.93 million yuan, and agricultural insurance premiums increased from 28.33 million yuan to 70.70 million yuan, a compound annual growth rate of over 25 percent. The amount of compensation increased from 2.68 million yuan to 28.90 million yuan, a compound annual growth rate of 81 percent. (Edited by Xie Zhenzhen)