Up to 70% of damage to be compensated

The government will introduce a disaster insurance system to compensate

damage by typhoon, hail, and frost on agricultural products for the first time

in next March. Up to 70 percent of the damage will be covered by the insurance, the

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Monday.

The ministry said that it would submit a bill tentatively entitled "Agricultural Products Disaster Insurance Law`` to the upcoming regular National Assembly session and plans to have it go into effect in next March, if it passes through the Assembly.

The projected system is designed to clear away the uneasiness of farmers

about the possible damage on their agricultural products by natural disasters.

The ministry will implement the disaster insurance system for farming households cultivating apples and pears, for example, and expand it to other farming houses.

Under the insurance, a farmer cultivating apples on 2,000 pyong (6,600 square meters) of land shall receive a compensation of up to 10,110,000 won or 70 percent of the expected income, if he or she suffers a 100 percent damage due to a natural disaster. And, the farmer will receive a total of 22,990,000 won, including a state subsidy of 23,880,000 won based on the existing criteria for supports for agricultural disaster.

The premium will be 187,000 won for apple and 378,000 won for pears cultivated on the land of 2,000 pyong.