The Ministry of Agriculture has approved the principles of the 2026 wet-season rice insurance scheme. The government and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) will subsidize premiums for small-scale farmers with up to 10 rai. Satellite technology will be used to assess damage and enable claims payments within 14 days to address natural disasters.
Mr. Winaroj Sapsongsuk, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, stated that at the first meeting of the Agricultural Insurance Steering Committee for 2026, the principles of the 2026 wet-season rice insurance project were approved. This year’s approach targets a hybrid model focusing on more comprehensive care and assistance for small-scale farmers.
According to the project structure, the government and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) will jointly support insurance premiums for small-scale farmers, including BAAC customers, covering cultivation areas of up to 10 rai per farmer.
Information from the Ministry of Agriculture explains that this policy aims to provide Thai farmers with protection against natural risks, especially amid climate volatility and the El Niño phenomenon, which historically has caused severe droughts and flash floods, directly impacting rice yields and farmers' incomes continuously.
The meeting also approved reforms to make the insurance system more flexible and accurate by integrating advanced satellite imaging technology alongside existing assessment methods. This will reduce the need for on-site visits and accelerate damage evaluations of farm plots, enabling compensation payments to farmers within 7 to 14 days.
For the next steps, the secretariat will expedite submitting these resolutions to the BAAC Board and the Rice Policy and Management Committee by June 2026, to ensure the project is implemented in time for the upcoming planting season.
Beyond the insurance system, the Ministry of Agriculture also emphasizes educating farmers on risk management to elevate support from merely disaster relief to establishing sustainable career security in farming aligned with international standards.
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