What relief channels exist for farmers' disaster losses?
Since June, the Yangtze River basin has suffered multiple rounds of heavy rainfall, and provinces and cities along the river have been hit by severe floods. The floods have brought enormous property losses to farmers. Farmland was submerged, leaving nothing to harvest; houses collapsed, leaving people without shelter; and there were also various property disputes triggered by the floods, plaguing farmers in their self-rescue and efforts to resume production. In the face of their property losses, what channels can farmers use to seek relief?
Government provides relief, society adds strength
According to Article 2 of China's "Regulations on Natural Disaster Relief," natural disaster relief work follows the principles of putting people first, government leadership, tiered management, social mutual aid, and disaster victims' self-rescue.
Floods are natural disasters, and there is no subject of liability for compensation under civil law. Yang Dongxia, a researcher at the Legal Service Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, told reporters, "At present, China's flood disaster property relief system mainly includes civil affairs relief, social donations, and disaster victims' self-rescue."
China's "Emergency Response Law" stipulates that the state bears certain relief and compensation responsibilities for damage caused by floods. In past extreme natural disasters, the government has always played a pivotal role, providing the people with substantial material support and relief. According to the Disaster Relief Division of the Hunan Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, as of now, the central government has allocated 200 million yuan, and Hunan Province itself has spent 72 million yuan for living relief and housing reconstruction for disaster victims, with funds being gradually disbursed for disaster relief use.
Social donations are also an important force in flood relief. Caring donations from various organizations and individuals have provided both material and spiritual comfort to the affected people. According to figures released by the Hubei Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, in the month since the floods occurred, the Hubei Provincial Department of Civil Affairs and various charitable organizations received more than 30 million yuan in donations from the public.
Policy-based agricultural insurance provides protection
Should agricultural insurance be purchased? After the floods, farmers have gained a deeper understanding of this question. Tongling City in Anhui Province is one of the areas affected by this flood. After the disaster occurred, Tongling City opened a "green channel" for agricultural insurance claims.
"We underwrite crops such as rice, corn, cotton, and greenhouse vegetables. Premiums come from central, provincial, municipal, and county government finances and farmers' own contributions, with government finances at all levels bearing 80%, and farmers' own contributions accounting for only 20%," Zhang Qiren, manager of the Agricultural Insurance Department of the Tongling Central Sub-branch of Guoyuan Agricultural Insurance Co., Ltd., told reporters.
It is learned that because the disaster occurred early, most farmers growing autumn crops covered by basic policy-based insurance, such as rice, in the affected areas of Tongling City had not yet completed insurance procedures. To protect the interests of affected farmers, Guoyuan Agricultural Insurance Co., Ltd. adopted a "four-along" approach for basic policy-based agricultural insurance on crops already planted and insured in previous years, namely "surveying while assessing, assessing while issuing policies, and issuing policies while paying claims," and all were compensated.
It is understood that agricultural policy insurance in Tongling City began in 2008. By this year, a total of 310,000 households in Tongling City had enrolled autumn crops, with an insured area of about 1.3 million mu. As of now, losses of nearly 10 million yuan have been assessed, including more than 3 million yuan in advance payments. "Those with losses of 80% or more are determined to be total losses and compensated as total crop failure; those with loss rates between 30% and 80% are determined to be partial losses and handled according to the company's loss assessment rules," Zhang Qiren added.
What cannot be ignored is that the current state of China's agricultural insurance system is still characterized by low agricultural output efficiency and weak insurance awareness among farmers; high agricultural risks and high payout ratios, with insurance companies not proactive in underwriting, and insurance products and compensation standards unable to meet demand; and government financial support still needing to be further strengthened.
The insurance system for damaged rural houses needs improvement
Flooded and damaged houses are a common phenomenon in floods. For the protection of rural houses, China's current insurance system is mainly based on market-oriented commercial insurance, with policy-based rural house protection piloted only in certain regions.
Housing insurance is a type of family property insurance. It is understood that major insurance companies basically all offer commercial insurance for residences. Generally speaking, home property insurance includes a main policy and additional riders; the main policy insures the house and its overall structure, while additional riders cover other property within the house, including home decoration and furniture.
"Due to regional differences, not all housing losses caused by floods fall within the scope of coverage," lawyer Wang Chunjun of Beijing Jingdu Law Firm told reporters. "Insurance companies mainly use steel-structure houses as insurance subjects; brick-and-wood structure houses, because they are prone to damage themselves, are often not included in the scope of coverage."
Would farmers proactively buy insurance for their rural houses? A reporter's investigation found that because natural disasters causing house damage are highly accidental, and there are not many suitable housing insurance products to purchase, farmers' willingness to insure their rural houses is not strong.
In recent years, policy-based rural house insurance piloted by some provinces and cities, relying on government subsidies for premiums and targeting extreme disasters and weather, has continually appeared in people's view. For example, the unified rural house insurance project in mountainous and reservoir areas of Anhui covers losses caused by rainstorms and windstorms. Another example is the rural house earthquake insurance pilot in Dali, Yunnan, where premiums are fully borne by the finances of the provincial, prefectural, and county governments at three levels, providing protection for rural house losses caused by earthquakes of magnitude 5 (inclusive) or above.
Don't panic over agriculture-related disputes; the law provides protection
The occurrence of floods sometimes triggers various legal disputes. According to a survey by the "People's Court Daily," disputes easily triggered by floods include contract disputes, labor disputes, debt and property rights disputes, and other administrative and criminal disputes.
Here is an example: a rice-shrimp rotation cooperative raised crayfish in rice fields and signed a purchase and sale contract with a food processing company in May, agreeing to deliver 1,000 jin of crayfish in August. The processed crayfish would be used for an international aquatic products exhibition held in September. After heavy rain and floods, almost all the crayfish died, and delivery of the crayfish had become factually impossible. What should be done in this situation?
According to Article 117 of the "Contract Law," if a contract cannot be fully performed due to force majeure, liability may be partially or fully exempted according to the impact of the force majeure. Because force majeure has occurred, both parties to the contract may negotiate to modify the contract terms. This rice-shrimp cooperative may be fully or partially exempted from liability based on the actual situation of suffering flood disaster, and may also negotiate separately with the contracting party on relevant terms in the contract.
What should be done if property and rights certificates are washed away by floods? According to Article 79 of the "General Principles of Civil Law," anyone who finds lost property, drifting objects, or stray domesticated animals shall return them to the owner, and expenses incurred for this shall be repaid by the owner. The loss of rights certificates does not cause loss of rights. If certificates such as passbooks, bank cards, or property ownership certificates are lost, the rights holder may, through identity verification, lawfully exercise their rights or reapply for the relevant certificates.