In 2002, insurance firms in Shanghai undertook to provide insurance for the large majority of individual farmers who applied for insurance for their rice crops, and all claimants whose rice crops were hit by typhoons and rainstorms were well compensated.

From the early 1990s to the present, insurance services for the agricultural sector have risen from 11 to 22, and insurance premiums and claims expenses have quadrupled respectively, with the risk fund rising 10-fold.

According to a blueprint for the development of Shanghai's agriculture worked out by the municipality, the overall cropland area has been classified into three parts with equal emphasis, which will be used to grow grain crops, trees, and high-quality vegetables and fresh fruits.

Regarding insurance for agricultural produce as a non-profit business, Shi Xingzhong, deputy chairman of the municipal agricultural commission, said the commission this year would do more still to support insurance services so as to improve the agricultural structure and protect farmers' interests.

(Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2003)