In August 2021, ICMIF member CLIMBS (Philippines) officially launched an enhanced Weather Protect Insurance product for farmers and agripreneurs with global partners IBISA (Luxembourg), also an ICMIF member; Global Parametrics; and CIAT (International Centre for Tropical Agriculture). ICMIF has also been supporting the collaboration through the provision of technical assistance.
Recently, Typhoon Odette has devastated many parts of the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines, badly affecting the livelihoods of farmers and agripreneurs who are vulnerable and at risk when it comes to natural calamities. CLIMBS Life and General Insurance Cooperative, has remained faithful to its promise of “Helping Cooperatives and Agripreneurs Build Resilient & Sustainable Communities and Climate Action through Digital Solutions”, and has been able to offer these farmers assistance with the payment of the first claims through its enhanced Weather Protect Insurance product.
On 3 January 2022, CLIMBS President and CEO, Mr Noel D. Raboy and his team personally handed over the very first Weather Protect Insurance claim payment to the Mindanao Consolidated Cooperative Bank (MCCB), one of the five pilot cooperatives of CLIMBS’s enhanced Weather Protect Insurance. It was received by MCCB President, Ms Myrna Sescon and Chairperson, Attorney Isidro Lico with gratitude and appreciation.
On 5 January 2022, Mr Raboy and his team also handed over a Weather Protect Insurance claim payment to Carmen Samahang Nayon of Multi-Purpose Cooperative, another pilot cooperative (see image).
Many Filipino farmers do not have access to insurance for their crops even though they are vulnerable to weather risk. Driven by a desire to help close this gap, CLIMBS’ agricultural insurance product was purposefully designed with sustainability and inclusive protection in mind. It is an innovative solution using blockchain technology with a unique feature on smart agriculture to help build resilience and sustainability among farmers and agripreneurs.
For the pilot phase, CLIMBS has partnered with like-minded cooperatives: Mindanao Consolidated Cooperative Bank (MCCB), Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Metro Ormoc Community Multi-Purpose Cooperative (OCCCI), Oro Integrated Cooperative (OIC), and The Philippine Family Farmers Agriculture-Fishery-Forestry Cooperatives Federation (AgriCOOPh), with the goal of protecting 3,600 farmers in the first year.
This partnership is viewed as their collective contribution to the #Coops2030 campaign which seeks to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly: Goal 1 – No Poverty; Goal 2 – Zero Hunger; Goal 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; Goal 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production; Goal 13 – Climate Action; and Goal 17 – Partnership for the Goals.
When speaking of the importance of the Weather Protect Insurance product at the time of its launch last year, Mr Raboy said “The product has been designed to protect the livelihood and enhance the resilience of farmers who are part of the vulnerable sector of the community here in the Philippines. In addition to the insurance coverage, farmers will also benefit from advisory services such as what crops to plant during a particular season and whether their location is vulnerable to issues brought about by climate change, such as excessive rainfall which may result in flooding. These concerns have been validated by our partner cooperatives and we look forward to seeing the benefits in the coming months.
“Through this collaboration with our global partners, we aim to stimulate the financial growth of our partner cooperatives and positively impact local and economic growth. We are particularly grateful to ICMIF who has been instrumental in helping us enhance the product by connecting us with the right partners, particularly in relation to blockchain technology. We are very excited about the launch of this product and view it as a first step in paving the way for scaling up in the future,” he added.
