With 30,000 yuan (US$3,704) of indemnity in hand, for the first time Huang Bo felt his crop income was not overly dependent on extreme climate change. He was optimistic.

Huang's 40-acre soybean field, at Tieli Farm in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, recently was badly damaged by frost.

Luckily, his agriculture mutual insurance, carrying a 4,000-yuan premium, brought him 30,000 yuan in compensation.

Agricultural mutual insurance is the next big thing.

He is among the first farmers in the province to turn to mutual insurance to guarantee their crop income in case of natural disasters.

Huang's case augurs a promising future in the agricultural insurance launched by Heilongjiang Sunlight Agriculture Mutual Insurance Company in Harbin.

"Shoulder the risks together and help each other when necessary, which is our principle," said Liang Min, president of the firm, adding that it has paved the way for the development of agricultural insurance.

Statistics provided by the company show that as of January 11, about 200,000 farm households in the province have signed contracts. The area under insurance has reached 147 hectares, 80 percent of the total farmland.

Among the 200-million-yuan insurance premium, 65 percent comes from farmers and the rest is offered by the company and the local government, according to company sources.

(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2005)