Kathmandu. The Agriculture Insurance Board under Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation has declared February 2026 as the Insurance Month for the farming community.
During this period, farmers can get insurance coverage for various crops including paddy, maize, potato, onion, soybean and chillies. This can prevent damage from drought, floods, wild animals, pests, diseases and fires.
Policies are offered at a nominal premium and cover crop loss due to natural calamities. For example, for crops such as cauliflower, moong, black gram, urad dal, kurukkan, peanuts, sesame and collu, the premium has been fixed at 7 percent of the insured price for Sri Lankan dollars per acre.
Similarly, for vegetables and other crops such as sweet potato, cassava, yam, beetroot, cabbage, carrot, leek, red onion, okra, beans, chillies, tomato, bitter gourd and beans, the premium is 7 percent of the amount insured. For example, sweet potato cultivation will require a premium of 7,000 Sri Lankan rupees per acre for coverage of 100,000 Sri Lankan rupees.
The Board has also started targeted insurance plans for high value crops such as ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, chillies, pineapples, nuts and bananas. This encourages farmers to participate and protect their crops from damage at an affordable rate. –Agency
