Non-loanee farmers warm up to crop cover in some States

This kharif period, nevertheless lots of States have opted out of the revamped PMFBY, some like Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Karnataka have witnessed an increase in farmers using protect below the flagship plan.

Curiously, the amount of non-loanee farmers using protect below PMFBY, which has been produced voluntary from this kharif period, has risen in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Vagaries of mother nature

The concern of crop loss due to variables these types of as flooding and pest assaults and bigger settlement ratio in the previous many years could have been the drivers for the rise in non-loanee enrolments in these States, sources explained. Though crops are mostly prone to floods in Assam, Tamil Nadu had witnessed flooding in several districts last 12 months. Rajasthan has witnessed desert locust assaults early into the period from April this 12 months.

Officials at the TN Agriculture Section explained the consciousness strategies together with mass media guidance and use of cell vans in remote places have assisted in expanding the protect amid non-loanee farmers enrolments.

As Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand have pulled out of PMFBY, full applications throughout the region were being down by 12 per cent at 336 lakh. In Maharashtra, full enrolments and place protected were being down by close to 17 per cent every single, while decrease in non-loanee candidates was marginal. Other States these types of as UP, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha have witnessed dip in enrolments.

Fear of crop loss due to climatic vagaries is the major possibility that farmers throughout the region experience as the weather pattern is more and more getting erratic in the latest many years. Shut to 50 many years following the initially crop coverage plan was introduced in the region, the protect for crops however stays elusive for a significant part of farmers. There is an expanding require remaining felt to protect their hazards and just take a re-look at the current strategies to widen the ambit to also involve the perennial crops.

“Crop coverage strategies, especially PMFBY, have carried out a excellent job bringing coverage option to the farmers who have historically suffered from vagaries of mother nature,” explained G Srinivasan, Director, National Insurance plan Academy.

“We require to create suitable consciousness about the plan to the farmers. Good deal of misgivings are mostly due to farmers not knowing the crop coverage strategies. It is also necessary that claims require to be settled swiftly and rather. This will go a long way in expanding self esteem of farmers,” Srinivasan explained.

Fiscal problems

Into its fifth 12 months, the PMFBY is shedding its sheen due to a host of variables these types of as delayed settlement and States opting out.

“To make the crop coverage much more interesting, the high quality charged ought to be really nominal,” claims A Narayanamoorthy, former CACP member. “To prevent the present-day problem, whereby States are pulling out of the plan due to fiscal problems, the Centre ought to bear bigger expenses of implementing these types of as plan,” he provides.

Other strategies

Moreover PMFBY, the Temperature Primarily based Crop Insurance plan Scheme (WBCIS), which mostly handles horticulture and income crops, and the Coconut Palm Insurance plan Scheme have not been capable to catch the attention of the farmers’ passions.

“Crop coverage has not been taken significantly all these many years and which is the motive we have these types of a very low protection,” explained Devinder Sharma, agri plan skilled. The current strategies, which have not identified a favour with farmers, ought to be scrapped and a new one particular ought to be produced so that every single and just about every farmer in the region is protected below the crop coverage, he explained.

As the Centre spends big volume as high quality subsidy, the new strategies ought to be led and carried out by the general public sector companies, which have a presence on the ground and also create new work, he explained.

Starting off today, BusinessLine will provide a collection of studies on crop coverage.

With inputs from TE Rajasimhan in Chennai and Radheshyam Jadhav in Pune