Good morning. It is both an honour and a pleasure to welcome you ...

Good morning.It is both an honour and a pleasure to welcome you to this internationalconference on risk and crisis management in the agricultural insurance.This meeting takes place within the context of the six-month SpanishPresidency of the European Union and aims to show current interest inSpain with regard to protecting the primary sector in the face ofadverse climate conditions.The Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, accounts for a high percentageof the European Union budget. This is as true today as it was whenCAP was first drawn up. Maintaining the profitability of farmingbusinesses is a top priority in the European Union. This is a strategicsector that, without doubt, sustains and drives rural development whilealso guaranteeing food safety through the standards laid down and themethods of control that are subsequently implemented.Yet all the aid and compensation that producers receive would lose itseffectiveness without a system of agricultural insurance to guaranteetheir earnings.In Spain the harsh weather conditions cause losses every year thatfarmers cannot afford and jeopardise the viability of their operations. Inorder to counter the effects of such conditions we have had anagricultural insurance system in place which has steadily been mouldedto suit sector needs since it was set up in 1978.The Agricultural Insurance Act is universal in nature, with regard toboth produce and the types of risks that may be insured. It ensures thesystem remains solvent using complex formulae involving jointinsurance and re-insurance with public and private participation. Themodel is based on the solidarity of the whole of society with the sectorand, for this reason, a percentage of the premiums is subsidised.The system works on the premise that all produce and all risks that areinsurable cannot be compensated by extraordinary aid. The Act doesnot obligate farmers to take out policies; rather it calls for companiesto accept all applications that meet the requirements specified. Thusno farm is left without risk cover when its owner requests a policy.ENESA, the State Agrarian Insurance Body, coordinates the system in

which national and regional governments participate,, alongside farmingorganisations, cooperatives, and the private sector. The involvement ofall partners provides a broader view of the needs of the sector and allthe data available means that policies can be matched to newdemands.The national agricultural insurance system must not, therefore, be staticbut very much alive and constantly evolving. The move to adaptpolicies to risks from climate change is one of its most recentchallenges. There are, however, more..Among the major concerns of farmers and stock breeders is pricestability. A move here is to ensure that crops will be profitable and notsubject to fluctuations that are not readily foreseeable. One of theSpanish system’s immediate plans is to create an insurance policy tocover market volatility.The Spanish Act and its development have served as a model forsimilar systems in other countries which, with ENESA acting as anadviser, have used this as a basis that they have then adapted to thespecific needs of their own territory.Over the course of this international conference we will have a chance to find out about thearious risk management systems that are being applied throughout the world. We will learn whatnstruments are employed and what foreseeable trends are. We will have the opportunity tocquaint ourselves first hand with different national experiences in the world of agriculturalnsurance. Models from EU countries along with other continents will be examinedThis conference will also feature a round table in which representativesfrom international organisations seeking to create and developinstruments for managing risk will take part.We will learn about the initiatives undertaken to this end by theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, (OECD) theFood and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, (FAO) theInter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture and the WorldTrade Organisation. The promotion and prosperity of rural communitiesis one of the concerns of these bodies, who view agricultural insuranceas a guarantee for stability in farming activity.This is what farmers themselves are actually seeking. Theirinvolvement in designing and developing new instruments to managerisk will be examined round table with representatives fromprofessional organisations and farming cooperatives.The present international conference would not be complete withoutthe other point of view on policy agreements, that of the insurance

companies. These companies will debate their current position andtheir plans for the future.We are currently nearing the conclusion of Spain’s six-month term ofPresidency of the EU and within this context everyone ─ insurancecompanies and the insured alike ─ is watching to see what willhappen regarding the prospects for risk management in the CommonAgricultural Policy after 2013. We will attempt to obtain an insight intowhat exactly these prospects are .As you can see, there is an extensive range of topics up for discussionin the attempt to examine all angles of agricultural insurance and itsfuture. There is no doubt that climate change and its effects will meanhaving to make changes to current systems, as will the increasinglyglobal market, which will substantially alter the equilibrium in differentareas. Perhaps, as a result of this,, new lines of work will appear,along with the consolidation of those that already exist and are basedon solidarity.We have come a long way but there is still a long road ahead. I amsure that we will be able to find many of the keys to the future at thisinternational conference beginning today. .To open the conference, we will now hear a few words from theChairman of the State Agrarian Insurance Body, a person whosepersonal commitment to improving and perfecting this area goes farbeyond their responsibility towards the Spanish system. Ladies andgentlemen, Santiago Menéndez de Luarca, Chairman of ENESA andsub-secretary for the Environment, and Rural and Marine Affairs.