MP farmers feel cursed by untimely rains

Crop-insurance schemes a big failure due to ambiguity in rules

Augmentation in irrigation facilities has played a key role in Madhya Pradesh's agri-economy, yet the rain god spoils the growth each year. In spite of its different agri-climatic zones, state has to negotiate with weather in terms of growth rate.

According to data available with Business Standard, the state has witnessed shortfall in rain each year since 2005-06. In contrast, each year incessant rain during November-April spoils the rabi crop, which is estimated to reach a record high of 212.62 lakh tonnes this year. The farmers also feel frustrated when they lose a huge quantity to bad weather in winters.

2005-06 received 1,028 mm rain in 42 days and the shortage was 9 per cent, in 2006-07 the shortage slipped to 5 per cent with 1,074 mm rain in 44 days. But during 2007-11, rainfall never touched the 1,000-mm figure and yo-yoed in the 26-35 per cent shortage range with hailstorms, winter rains followed by frost-like conditions each year during November to April. It improved only in 2011-12 when the state received 1,001 mm rain in 42 days.

Irrigation utilisation
"Our initiative to improve better irrigation facilities brought some good results. Irrigation facility in the state not only improved with schemes like kapildhara under Mahatma Gandi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Balram Talab Yojana, but we created a proper network of irrigation canals, besides handsome subsidies on tube-wells and wells. The agri-sector witnessed a turnaround in 2007-08 when utilisation of irrigation potential improved from 35 per cent to 57 per cent in 2012-13 in various large, medium and small irrigation projects. Farmers have also become big consumers of power sector. Since 2007-08, the state power consumption is not less than 30 per cent in the sector.

Insurance rules
Farmers, however, yet have no clue on persistent damages to their crop each year. Crop-insurance schemes are a big failure due to ambiguous rules which does not gel with farmers' plight. "Farm insurance needs to be better if we have to combat natural calamities like unseasonal rains each year. Insurance rules and regulations need to be redefined if we have to make farmers comfortable and farm sector handsome," says Ramkrishna Kusmaria, agriculture minister, adding, "but sadly it is not in our hands. We have to be dependent upon state government."

During 2009 state government had claimed that entire tur crop had been damaged due to a sudden spell of frost like conditions. This year also farm sector suffered due to frequent changes in weather and non-seasonal rains.

According to a latest survey of department of revenue a total of 1,77,522 hectares were damaged above the irrecoverable limit due to frost-like condition this year in the winter, 3,48,574 hectares were damaged due to the first spell of hailstorm in February and another 2,48,615 hectares due to the second spell.