Accelerating the Development of Livestock Insurance and Advancing the Building of Modern Animal Husbandry
On August 28, the Ministry of Agriculture and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission jointly held in Chengdu, Sichuan, an experience-sharing meeting on insurance support for the development of animal husbandry, to jointly study and plan livestock insurance work. Vice Minister of Agriculture Yu Kangzhen and Vice Chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission Chen Wenhui each delivered speeches on vigorously developing livestock insurance and advancing the building of modern animal husbandry.
Yu Kangzhen pointed out that animal husbandry is an important pillar industry of the agricultural and rural economy, and also a weak industry with “high risk and low returns.” Accelerating the development of livestock insurance is an important measure for reducing disaster losses and market risks in animal husbandry, promoting the harmless treatment of dead animals, boosting the income of farmers and herders, and improving the government's means of regulation; it is an intrinsic requirement of modern animal husbandry development. Since the state launched policy-based livestock insurance in 2007, livestock insurance has advanced steadily, its role in risk protection has gradually come into play, and it has played an important role in promoting the healthy and stable development of animal husbandry.
Yu Kangzhen stressed that animal husbandry and veterinary departments at all levels must firmly seize the important historic opportunity presented by the central government's acceleration of the development of the modern insurance service industry and its greater emphasis on the development of agricultural insurance. Following the principle of “government guidance, market operation, voluntary participation, and coordinated advancement,” they should carefully summarize the successful experience of developing livestock insurance, strengthen organizational leadership, raise ideological awareness, and enhance the capacity to support the development of livestock insurance. They should actively push financial departments at all levels to increase support for livestock insurance, steadily expand the scope of policy-based livestock insurance, and meet the growing demand for livestock insurance. They should strengthen cooperation with insurance regulatory departments and operating institutions, establish and improve a mutually connected and mutually reinforcing operating and management mechanism for livestock insurance, comprehensively raise the level of livestock insurance development, and safeguard the building of modern animal husbandry.
Chen Wenhui pointed out that in recent years China's livestock insurance has achieved leapfrog development and produced positive results. At present, livestock insurance covers all provinces across the country, and China has become the world's largest livestock insurance market. The functions and roles of livestock insurance are increasingly brought into play, becoming a stabilizer and booster for the development of animal husbandry as well as an important means of implementing the state's policies of strengthening agriculture, benefiting farmers and enriching them. Linkage mechanisms between insurance and the animal identification and disease traceability system, epidemic prevention, and harmless treatment have been gradually established, using market means to guide farmers and herders in implementing animal husbandry management standards and to safeguard public environmental hygiene and food safety. It is necessary to fully understand the mission and requirements of the modern insurance industry, accurately grasp the historic opportunities facing the development of livestock insurance, and, with the implementation of the Regulations on Agricultural Insurance and the Several Opinions of the State Council on Accelerating the Development of the Modern Insurance Service Industry as the core, further unify thinking, raise awareness, improve working mechanisms, give play to the synergy of policies, enhance service capacity, and expand insurance coverage. At the same time, supervision must be strengthened to ensure standardized operation, ensure that the state's policies of strengthening agriculture, benefiting farmers and enriching them are fully implemented, and ensure that good deeds are done well and practical matters are carried out solidly.
Responsible departments for animal husbandry and veterinary affairs, insurance regulatory departments, some insurance institutions, and experts and scholars from all provinces across the country attended the meeting.