A tandem of lawmakers has pushed for the establishment of a free weather index-based crop insurance (FIBCI) program with an automatic payout system to better protect small farmers from losses caused by climate change-related calamities.

“House Bill No. 6519 or the Weather Ready Farmers bill seeks to establish a scientific payout system with an automatic payout mechanism based measurable parameters. Through this, we can ensure that our small farmers receive timely compensation, administrative delays are minimized, and there are no disputes over loss verification,” Solid North Party-list Rep. Ching Bernos said.

The bill seeks to create a FIBCI Program overseen by the Insurance Commission, supported by a P5.8 billion Premium Subsidy Fund.

Targeted beneficiaries include farmers, agriculture and fisheries producers, and farmers’ cooperatives that register with their respective local government units for specific crop or production insurance programs offered by LGUs as group policies through accredited insurance providers.

Under the proposal, LGUs may also allocate local funds to complement premium subsidies from the national government, while farmers may opt to pay additional premiums for enhanced insurance features offered by providers.

Payouts will be automatically triggered once insurance parameters based on an agreed weather reference index—such as rainfall, wind speed, and temperature—are breached.

Bernos said that because the system is weather index-based, a declaration of a state of calamity by LGUs will no longer be required to trigger insurers’ obligation to compensate farmers and producers.

The bill also calls for the creation of a FIBCI Oversight Board, which will convene at least twice a year to monitor the program’s implementation and oversee all index-based agricultural insurance in the country.

The board will be chaired by the Insurance Commission and composed of the heads of the Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Cooperative Development Authority, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, PAGASA, and the DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute.

It will also include three farmer representatives from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to be appointed by the President, as well as three representatives from the insurance industry, including the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. and two private-sector representatives.

Meanwhile, Abra lone district Rep. JB Bernos underscored the need to move away from what he described as the slow and costly processes of the traditional crop insurance system.

“Due to the traditional system, insurance payouts are playing catch-up. Dumating na ang kasunod na bagyo o baha, hindi pa rin nababayaran ang mga magsasaka. Kailangan nating baguhin ang sistema para mas mabilis tayong makapag-responde sa pangangailangan ng ating mga magsasaka,” he said.

Bernos warned that failure to help farmers and food producers recover after every calamity would have wider consequences for the country’s food security.