Armenia will start insurance of agricultural risks from 2019

ArmInfo. In Armenia, the  visit of international experts selected by the KfW bank is expected,  with which it is planned to develop further steps to insure  agriculture and fix specific dates. This was stated by the Minister  of Agriculture of Armenia Ignaty Arakelyan on February 2 during a  meeting with representatives of insurance companies.

According to the press service of Armenian Agriculture Ministry,  during the meeting, in which representatives of the Central Bank of  Armenia and the German Development Bank KfW also participated, Ignaty  Arakelyan informed that in order to reduce risks, a pilot program for  the introduction of missile anti- hail systems is being implemented  jointly with the Ministry for Emergency Situations. In addition,  starting in 2018, the program for subsidizing interest rates for the  introduction of anti-hail protection systems in the agro-complex was  launched.

According to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Armen Harutyunyan, at  present no less important task is the establishment of an institution  for damage assessment, the formation of the Narma bureau, which will  become the mechanism that will be used to assess the damage caused to  the agriculture as a result of natural elements. The Bureau will also  develop insurance policies.

It was noted that to implement the pilot program, KfW Bank will grant  a grant of 5 million euros and the same amount will be received from  the country's budget as part of the co-financing of the project by  the government of Armenia. These funds will be used to subsidize  insurance policies, as today the villagers are not ready to make  expenditures on their own.  In their turn, representatives of the  Central Bank presented a proposal to form a bureau "Narma" from  representatives of insurance companies participating in the project,  using the successful experience of introducing the OSAGO  (compulsory  third party motor liability insurance)   system. Participants of the  meeting expressed to me that the system of agricultural insurance  will start working already in 2019.