The new funding for insurance against storms, frost or heavy rain is getting off to a good start: As reported by the Ministry of Agriculture in Munich, a total of 450 winegrowers and fruit growers had applied for funding for their multi-risk insurance by the beginning of March. This is made possible by the newly launched special fruit and wine growing program. In total, a total area of around 3,000 hectares was insured, which corresponds to a quarter of the eligible cultivation area. “Every fourth hectare of the acreage was insured. This is a very great success for our new special program. It shows that our fruit growers and winegrowers are ready to protect themselves against the increasing weather risks, ”said Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber.
With a share of around three quarters, most of the applications were submitted by winemakers. In relation to the entire Bavarian cultivation area, the special program promotes the insurance of 33 percent of Bavarian strawberry, 31 percent of viticulture and 12 percent of fruit-growing areas. “With our program, we can help winemakers and fruit growers who are particularly affected by weather risks. In principle, however, climate change affects all farmers. That is why I continue to work at the federal level to set up a funding program to insure weather-related crop risks for the whole of agriculture, ”said the minister.
The Bavarian special program for fruit and wine growing is a pilot project and subsidizes the premiums for company income insurance against heavy frost, storms or heavy rain with up to 50 percent. In a second step, all applicants now have to submit a multiple application between mid-March and mid-May 2021. In addition, they must state all areas in the area and usage certificate for which a subsidy for multi-risk insurance has been applied for.
Report: Bayer. Ministry of Agriculture
Photo: Rainer Nitzsche – Orchard on the Samerberg
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