Modified crop insurance scheme to be revamped

The new scheme will focus on increasing crop based income for the farmers rather than insuring them against crop losses

The government has decided to immediately stop the newly launched  the new crop insurance  - Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme ( MNAIS).

The agriculture ministry will revamp the crop insurance scheme with focus on increasing crop based income for the farmers rather than insuring them against crop losses. According to official sources, the current scheme requires the government, farmers and the private companies to pay the money for the insurance  but the money pay back is too complicated and difficult for the farmers to get the income in case of crop failure.

The major lacunae with the scheme is that a farmer gets the insurance money  if there is a total crop loss. If there is a crop loss for a single farmer getting the money is not feasible most of the time, officials said .   

Last year, the  government rolled out new national crop insurance programme for the twelfth plan period across India  under a flagship scheme of - Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS). There are various indivisual insurance schemes launched under the flag scheme like Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS),  Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme ( WBCIS), Pilot modified  National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS),  and pilot Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme.

A salient feature of the flagship scheme  was that private insurance sector will have a bigger play in rolling and execution of the insurance schemes along with Agricultural Insurance Company of India.

Officials added that the revamp will also focus on simplifying the procedure for the farmer to get the money in the event of crop failure of a single farmer.

Unlike earlier, all farmers even including sharecroppers, tenant farmers, farmers enrolled in contract farming, group of farmers serviced by fertilizer companies, pesticide firms, crop growers, and self help groups are expected  to be eligible for insurance cover. It will be also made available for food crops, oilseeds and annual commercial/ horticultural crops.

There is a relook at  weather based crop insurance Scheme (WBCIS), another component of the same scheme aims to help farmers against adverse weather parameters.  It is applicable  to major cereals like millets, pulses, oilseeds and commercial / horticultural crops grown during kharif and Rabi seasons. Crops include cereals, millets, pulses, oilseeds, wheat, barley, gram, lentil, mustard, potato, onion, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, isabgol.

The government has fixed an official estimate that  the  food grain production is fixed at 261 million tonnes for 2014-15, marginally higher  than 259 million tonnes ( MT) in the year 2013-14. While rabi and kharif output combined together, rice and wheat production will be marginally higher, total coarse cereal production is lower  than last year. Total rice production is pegged at 106 MT in 2014-15 ( 105 Mt last year ) and wheat at 95 Mt as against 92.50 MT.