Turkiye: Agricultural insurance pool pays out US$1.2m promptly for tornado damage

TARSIM, the Agricultural Insurance Pool, has paid out TRY39m ($1.2m) to greenhouse producers in the southern province of Antalya whose crops were damaged by a recent tornado.

Two tornados struck Kumluca and Demre districts in Antalya on 5 March. Kumluca is the centre of greenhouse agriculture.

TARSIM evaluated claims from the insured farmers, completed the damage assessments and paid the compensation to the insured on 14 March.

In a statement, TARSIM said that the tornado caused damage to the greenhouse areas, greenhouse cover (glass and plastic), construction elements and the products inside.

Mr Hidayet Kökce, the head of the Kumluca Chamber of Agriculture, told Hurriyet Daily News that it would not be possible to rebuild the destroyed greenhouses in a short time. He emphasised the substantial costs associated with reconstruction, sharing that the installation cost of one acre of nylon greenhouses is TRY500,000 ($15,750).