Agricultural Protection | The "fear" of vegetable farmers, China Life Property & Casualty Insurance has caught it

(Source: China Life Property & Casualty Insurance)

Editor’s Note

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The Farmer’s “Fear”

China Life Property & Casualty Insurance has taken it on

Beichuan “Xingcun Huinong Bao” provides thoughtful protection for farmers

“Not afraid of hardship, not afraid of fatigue, only afraid of prices falling.”

From Mianyang city in Sichuan heading north, a drive of over two hours brings you into the heart of Beichuan. The mountains grow deeper, the roads bend more, and the altitude gradually rises. Arriving at Chenjiaba Town, the scenery is mountains overhead and gullies below; arable land is carved out of the mountains in small patches.

It is precisely these carved-out lands that produce good crops. High altitude, large temperature differences, fewer pests, crispy green beans, tender eggplants, fragrant peppers. The high mountain fruits and vegetables of Beichuan are gradually becoming the most prominent livelihood for local farmers.

But livelihoods also have their difficulties. Farmers always keep a string tight in their hearts: once they grow the crops, what about the price?

In good years, a pound of chili can sell for four or five yuan; in bad years, no one wants it for even a yuan. An old farmer squats by the field smoking, looking at the peppers on the ground, and says: “Not afraid of hardship, not afraid of fatigue, only afraid of prices falling.”

This sentence was later included in China Life Property & Casualty Insurance’s research report.

Understanding what they “fear”

From 2024 to 2025, staff from China Life Property & Casualty Insurance’s Mianyang Beichuan branch visited more than a dozen villages, talking face-to-face with farmers. They found: as long as they talked about yield, farmers had solutions—more fertilizer, weed more diligently, and they could harvest a few more jin. But as soon as they discussed prices, the atmosphere would turn heavy.

“Price is something we don’t control,” was the most common response.

Some large growers even calculated: the more you plant, the bigger the loss when prices are bad. Hard work all season, and in the end, it might only cover costs. “Growing crops isn’t the skill; selling at a good price is,” said more than one person.

After the survey

The team organized the farmers’ words sentence by sentence. The conclusion was straightforward: farmers aren’t afraid of not being able to grow crops; they’re afraid of not being able to sell at a good price. What they need isn’t yield insurance, but income insurance.

Designing around “fear”

This survey report, filled with farmers’ original words, became an important basis for relevant departments in Beichuan to develop plans.

In 2025, the Beichuan County government office issued the “Implementation Plan for Xingcun Huinong Insurance in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County (Trial),” relying on the construction of Mianyang Beichuan Shiyizhai Qiang Village Revitalization Pilot Zone, and officially launched vegetable income insurance for six local main crops: green beans, eggplants, chili peppers, small chili peppers, lettuce, and radishes.

Product discussion

As the insurance company involved throughout the preliminary research, China Life Property & Casualty Insurance Sichuan Branch brought the farmers’ survey report into the product discussion. Their words and data were repeatedly examined: what coverage amount is enough to cover a season’s hard work? How should the premium be shared to make farmers feel it’s worthwhile? How to set claims standards so that ordinary people feel this insurance is reliable?

From research to design, the company held more than ten seminars. Behind every policy clause, there is a farmer’s original word— the coverage for green beans comes from the large grower’s “no good price,” the collective insurance mechanism from the small farmer’s “my land is only two or three acres.” A staff member involved in product design said: “We’re not designing products in the office; they’re growing out of the fields.”

When prices really fall, insurance will support you

Farmers say “fear of prices falling”—so how much should the coverage be? Radish yields about 3,000 yuan per mu in a normal year; setting the coverage at 4,000 yuan can roughly cover the bottom line.

Farmers say “if the premium is too high, I won’t buy”—so how is the premium shared? The government pays 70%, farmers pay a few dozen yuan themselves. For radishes, paying 72 yuan per mu is like buying two fewer packs of cigarettes, providing a “minimum price guarantee” for a season’s harvest.

The manager of China Life Property & Casualty’s Beichuan branch explained plainly to farmers: “You pay a small part, the government pays the big part. If prices really fall, the insurance supports you. Previously, insurance paid when crops were damaged; now, even if crop prices fall, it pays you. How much? Based on the official website price—if it drops, we pay the difference.”

Claims standards are also set with that “fear” in mind

Farmers asked again: “If prices really fall, how much can I get paid? How does the payout work?”—The claims standards are also based on that “fear”: for a single harvest, the wholesale price from the Mianyang Development and Reform Commission’s website during the sale week is used; for multiple harvests, the average price during the selling period. Farmers inform the insurance company of the sale date in advance, and the company conducts on-site inspections and verifies yields, compensating based on “insurance amount minus actual income.”

This was the first pilot, with 3,000 mu of land across the county—400 mu of green beans, 100 mu of eggplants, 600 mu of chili peppers, 100 mu of small chili peppers, 500 mu of lettuce, and 1,300 mu of radishes. The government subsidized 70% of the premium, providing over 150 million yuan in income protection for these nearly 3,000 mu of vegetables. This investment isn’t for profit but to give hundreds of farmers the confidence to plant and invest.

Small farmers also fear “not reaching the threshold”

Some farmers asked: “Our land is in the mountains and rivers, only two or three acres. What if we don’t meet the threshold?”

This issue was identified during the research. The solution for “Xingcun Huinong Bao” is: for less than 100 acres, the village committee leads collective insurance. The procedures are simple—those with land transfer contracts just provide them; those without, get a certificate from the township government or agricultural authorities. The village handles it uniformly, so small farmers don’t have to go through the process themselves.

A village official said: “When small farmers band together, the threshold disappears.” Some places even include idle land of the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled farmers into collective management and insurance, with benefits returned to these farmers.

No more fears, only active minds

Farmers’ fears are supported—those who previously dared not plant more are now more active. Village collectives are trying “insurance + orders”: land is transferred collectively, insurance is purchased together, and purchase and sales agreements are signed with agricultural companies—companies guarantee minimum purchase prices, with insurance providing a safety net.

“The first pilot villages calculated: the income from ordered vegetables per mu is higher than in previous years. The confidence to try and plant comes from that ‘support when prices fall,’ and the support comes from a caring group— from signing agreements to monitoring price data and preparing claims, the Beichuan branch staff are always listening to farmers’ new ideas.” According to the plan, this insurance pilot will last two years. After implementation, it is expected to cover over 200 village collective economic organizations and more than 10k households, with a risk protection scale of about 300 million yuan for specialty agriculture.

The most feared thing for farmers has finally been supported. Supported by county policies, insurance terms, and the staff of China Life Property & Casualty Insurance who repeatedly go to villages.