Growers can avail coffee insurance through post office

Coffee growers in the state can now buy rainfall insurance from their nearest post office branch. On Tuesday, Agriculture Insurance Company of India, the provider of rainfall insurance scheme for coffee (RISC), entered into a tie-up with India Post as a corporate agent, to market RISC through post office branches spread across the three coffee growing districts of the state. With this, it is expected that the number of planters who will buy the crop insurance will double to 15,000 - 16,000 in 2009 as compared to 8,400 farmers in 2008.

As per the agreement, the insurance product will be sold through 327 post offices in the 23 coffee growing zones of the three districts - Kodagu, Chikmagalore and Hassan. The move is aimed at simplifying the insurance buying and claiming procedure and making it available at the doorsteps of farmers, said G V Krishna Rau, chairman, Coffee Board.

RISC was launched in 2007 by the Agriculture Insurance Company of India in consultation with Coffee Board, Central Coffee Research Institute and the coffee growers. The product is specially designed for the coffee growers of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu. RISC is expected to provide effective risk management aid to those coffee growers likely to be impacted by adverse rainfall.

The policy compensates the insured, against the likelihood of diminished coffee output, resulting from shortfall/ excess in the actual rainfall for different coverage options such as blossom showers, backing showers and monsoon showers.

There are about 70,000 planters in the state, and the potential to sign up the insurance is estimated at around 54,000. However, in the first year of launching the scheme, only 12,300 planters bought the product. In the second year, the number of farmers went further down at 8,400. The product was marketed through 30 agripreneurs placed in each zone. “Reaching out to the community effectively was not possible through this network. Hence we decided to take the post office route,” said N Sugumar, regional manager, Agriculture Insurance Company of India.

The postal staff will be trained to carry out the procedure relating to selling the product and settling claims, said Karuna Pillai, post master general, business development, Karnataka circle. The target for 2009 is to insure 15,000 planters covering 50,000 hectares. “We hope to generate insurance premium of Rs 2 crore with subsidy of Rs 2 crore totalling Rs 4 crore,” said Sugumar. The insurance can be availed during February 23- 28. Coffee Board provides up to 50 per cent of premium for growers with plantation size up to 10 hectares. Maximum sum insured per hectare for Robusta and Arabica varieties will be be Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 respectively. Premium chargeable will be calculated based on the type of coffee crop, location, coverage sought and past rainfall in the region.