The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed a third reading of the Farmers’ Insurance Act (農業保險法), which aims to safeguard the income of farmers, animal breeders, fishers and foresters from natural disasters and other incidents.
The act identifies entities that can provide farmers’ insurance, including designated farmers’ or fishers’ associations, as well as insurance companies.
It stipulates that associations should create a dedicated account for the handling of the insurance that would be subject to internal controls and audit regulations to be introduced by the Council of Agriculture.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Insurance for operators in the agricultural, animal husbandry, fisheries and forestry sectors can be compulsory or voluntary, depending on the government’s policies, which are to be detailed by the council, it says.
The act stipulates that insured parties are required to pay a premium before an insurance contract takes effect.
Depending on the nature of the insured party and the insurance, the council can subsidize up to 75 percent of the premium in the first five years of the act’s passage and up to 60 percent from the sixth year, it says.
However, parties for which insurance is mandatory are not subject to the subsidy ceilings, it adds.
The act calls for the council to help providers develop insurance packages, subsidize the cost of developing the packages or give them rewards.
The council is to establish a farmers’ insurance fund to determine the risks associated with people who work in the four sectors and develop policies to manage them, the act says.
Funding would be provided by donations from the government, income from offering insurance, endowments and loans, as well as from any generated interest and investment returns, it says.
The council should increase the amount of donations annually until they reach NT$10 billion (US$334.2 million), then make adjustments based on the number of insured people in relation to losses sustained by the fund, it adds.
The council is responsible for establishing inspection rules and should provide any necessary assistance to inspection personnel, the act says, adding that personnel charged with determining losses must receive training and certification from the council.
The council should also set the qualifications for inspection personnel, develop training programs, introduce certification rules and create an inspection personnel database, it says.
The council may conduct unannounced inspections of the associations, whose executives must not evade inspections or provide council officials with false or incomplete files or reports, the act says.
Associations that offer insurance without the council’s approval would be fined between NT$300,000 and NT$1.5 million, it says.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), who helped draft the act, said that the nation’s agricultural industry on average suffers losses of NT$12.3 billion annually due to weather and pests.
Grants issued by the government in the event of natural disasters are no longer enough to offset the losses, she said.
The goals of providing farmers with stable income and achieving sustainable agriculture can be realized by implementing a sound insurance system and increasing the protection for crops from natural disasters, she added.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators