The country's first insurer for agriculture will soon open in Shanghai, the government and company officials said yesterday.

　　Shanghai Anxin Agricultural Insurance Holding Co Ltd, with a registered capital of 200 million yuan (US$24 million), will transfer and lower risk in agricultural production in the way of insurance, officials said.

　　"When farmers encounter natural calamity and accidents, they can get economic compensation from the insurer. In this way, the company is just like an umbrella for farmers," Jiao Yang, the spokesperson of the municipal government, said at a government news conference yesterday.

　　The company will operate commercially and the government will offer preferential policies to support it.

　　Anxin will collect at least 60 percent of its premiums from the planting and breeding industries. The government will give subsidies for premiums to farmers involved in the production of rice, cows, pigs, poultry, aquatic products, wood and forestry, vegetables, wheat and melons.

　　As for insurance on rice, milk cows, pigs and poultry, the government pays the basic insurance fees. Farmers can buy additional insurance to ensure they will get more compensation if they are hit by a big disaster, Jiao said.

　　According to statistics from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, 460 million yuan of agricultural insurance premiums were collected in the country last year, accounting for only 0.5 percent of the nation's property insurance premiums.

　　编辑：趴趴