According to the insurance unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, of 330,000 farmers eligible, only about three percent have crop insurance. By 2017, the entity is aiming for that figure to increase to 55 percent of small and medium scale farmers, says President Rafael Correa.

Currently, 18,345 small producers are enrolled. Since 2010, 92,631.hectares of rice, sugar cane, beans, corn, soy, potato, wheat, tamarillo and banana crops have been insured, mostly in the provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí and Loja.

The government subsidizes 60 percent of the net worth of each insurance policy through the state agency Seguros Sucre, which they say benefits about 69,000 people, including farmers and their family members.

Original story