Kathmandu, Aug. 19 -- Agricultural insurance has expanded in Nepal, but its benefits have yet to reach crop farmers to the expected scale. More than 700,000 policies have been issued over the past five years, covering Rs238.36 billion in insured value, but most of the policies are for livestock and fish rather than crops.

Government data show that farmers' interest in livestock and fish insurance has grown steadily, while crop insurance remains limited.

Between fiscal 2021-22 and 2025-26, insurers issued 704,864 agricultural insurance policies. Livestock and fish insurance accounted for about 23 percent more policies than crop insurance over the period.

In fiscal 2021-22, 7,254 crop insurance policies were issued, compared with 24,266 ...