Gardiner applauds multiperal crop insurance, Gardiner
Author: Philip Gardiner
Published on: 04-April-2011
Hon Philip Gardiner, Member of the Legislative Council for the Agricultural Region applauds the efforts of the Western Australian Farmers Federation (“WAFF”) and Cooperative Bulk Handling (“CBH”) for negotiating and constructing a risk mitigation/multi peril crop insurance program at commercially relevant prices allowing wheat and barley growers to regain their costs of production in the event of crop failure.
“This is the first plank to make grain growing sustainable in the new world of high input prices and increasing volatility of seasonal growing conditions and grain prices”, Mr Gardiner said.
“It adds financial substance to the Drought Mitigation package negotiated and rolled out by Minister Terry Redman in conjunction with the Commonwealth.
“It allows wheat and barley growers to be reimbursed of the costs of production in the event of a crop wipe out due to seriously adverse weather conditions and so be able to meet the expenses of sowing a crop again in the following year.
“It gives a new management tool to improve financial security, especially to young grain growers seeking to make a profession in Western Australia’s broad acre agriculture.
“It is the most important risk management development that the grain industry has seen for many years”.
“It is all the more relevant as WAFF and CBH had to battle the nay-sayers over the years who chose to either not explore alternative structures to enable effective cover intrinsic to cropping risk; nor investigate other world practice; or blamed the prospect of moral hazard (where participants exploit practices which expose insurers to unjustifiable payouts) to prevent deeper analysis of applying effective risk mitigation.
Mr Gardiner encouraged grain growers across the grain growing climatic belts of Western Australia to examine the risk mitigation/multi peril crop insurance package and consider its applicability to their cropping business.
“It is a management tool which is welcomed by banks who provide financial facilities to grain growers and the extent of the uptake of this insurance package by wheat and barley growers will influence the roll out which has the potential over time to apply to nearly all broad acre and horticultural crops grown in Western Australia.
Mr Gardiner acknowledged the achievement of Mike Norton, Derek Clauson, Bob Iffla and Kevin Jones of WAFF, Rob Maurich of CBH , and the part also played by parliamentarians Hon Nigel Hallett MLC, Mick Murray MLA and Minister Terry Redman MLA in supporting the development of this package.
