Pilot Project in Yanchang County
Yan’chang County in Shaanxi Province is the legacy site of the Yan'an Spirit and serves as an exemplary region for the customs and traditions of northern Shaanxi and apple production. Local apple production is often affected by seasonal hailstorms and fluctuating prices, resulting in significant income losses for farmers. In this context, the IFU project leveraged nearly a million RMB through public funds and collaboration with the China Financial Futures Exchange (中国金融期货交易所), the local government, Changjiang Futures, and other stakeholders to safeguard the vital interests of farmers.
This pilot project also adopted a sustainable approach by providing direct financial assistance to farmers and supporting local grassroots financial promotion cadres, thereby enhancing its impact and depth of influence.
Overview
The implementation of Seagull's IFU project can be divided into different sections, with various departments participating in different ways throughout the multi-stage project execution process. Public and private fund-raising departments consistently support the project by raising funds through online and offline promotions, celebrity collaborations, social media channels, and more.
The promotion team exerts efforts at key points in the project, such as project initiation, during the operation of the project, on public welfare event days, and project conclusion, in coordination with fundraising efforts. They also maintain the content updates on various websites related to Seagull Society's IFU project.
Before the project is implemented, the research and execution teams combine data analysis and on-site investigations to determine whether the project can be realized, how it should be implemented, the specific target audience, and the design of follow-up engagement efforts.
During the project execution, both departments need to respond to feedback from local stakeholders and make timely adjustments and modifications to the IFU project. They also conduct in-depth investigations and research through follow-up visits, summarize the achievements at various stages, and provide suggestions and proposals for subsequent adjustments, new project pilots, and overall project optimization.
Approaches
In 2022, the project provided funding to 200 participating apple price insurance program farmers (originally registered impoverished households), totaling over 100,000 RMB in direct financial assistance. This effectively addressed the last-mile problem of insurance premiums. Additionally, the project awarded a total of over 20,000 RMB in incentives to 10 outstanding grassroots cadres for their efforts in promoting inclusive finance at the grassroots level, greatly advancing the promotion of "insurance + futures" at the household and field levels.
Based on a follow-up survey conducted in 2023, the team summarized key points in the theoretical and practical application of "insurance + futures." They also documented the issues currently faced by the "cold storage" facilities in the agricultural production chain and systematically organized their experiences in collecting information from farmers.
Findings & Results
Currently, "insurance + futures" inclusive finance is still in the experimental stage in China. IFU, as a pioneer, aims to, on one hand, make concrete contributions to farmers and rural areas in every project, solving practical issues and delivering real benefits. On the other hand, we hope to establish a systematic insurance promotion method and a multi-party cooperation model through multiple trial phases, adapting the "insurance + futures" model to the specific conditions of China. This will enable the widespread promotion of this product benefiting farmers throughout the country, providing long-term and sustainable support for the development of rural areas in our country.