The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) Regional Office 10, covering regions 10 and Caraga in Mindanao paid more than half a million pesos to 56 rice farmers, 27 of whom are women, 29 men, in the Municipality of Buenavista. These farmers have enrolled under the ILO-PCIC Weather Index-Based Insurance (WIBI) Package developed to protect them from risks of changing rainfall patterns. More often, these farmers experience low rainfall during the months of July and August, when crops are within critical reproductive stages.

Farmers felt grateful to have enrolled in WIBI as they reported reduction in yields even to as much as 50 per cent from normal yield of 80-100 sacks. Some have harvested only as few as 40 to 60 sacks. The insurance package proved to be very helpful to the farmers. Pay-outs were immediately processed and issued to farmers with the receipt of certified data DOST-PAGASA obtained from the Reference Automatic Weather Station installed in Buenavista by Department of Science and Technology-Caraga

The ILO and PCIC are currently testing five WIBI products for rice and corn in the Municipalities of Buenavista and Remedios T. Romualdez (RTR), Agusan del Norte, with partners DOST-PAGASA, DOST-Caraga Regional Office, the municipal governments of Buenavista and RTR and the Department of Agriculture.

These farmers are also loan recipients and participants of the Cooperative Model and Local Government Unit Loan Facility, two of the Innovative Financing Schemes for climate vulnerable farmers developed and currently tested by ILO with its MDG F Joint Programme on Climate Change Adaptation: Climate Resilient Farming Communities in Agusan del Norte partners, the Baug Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Multipurpose Cooperative and the Municipal Government of Buenavista.