Odisha to finalise crop yield data by January

The Odisha government has set a target to give its crop-cutting yield data, based on Crop Cutting Experiments (CCE) by January 31, two months ahead of the due date, to the Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd (AICL).
 
The step is likely to help the distressed farmers who have sustained more than 33 per cent crop losses due to a drought. The decision to advance the data-submission process has been necessitated by the recent spate of farmer suicides in the state due to crop failure. Unofficial estimates suggest over 90 farmers have committed suicides.
 
“The state is planning to give the yield data before January 31 for settling the claims of the farmers before March 31, 2016, prior to the starting of the kharif 2016 season,” said Dasarathi Singh, deputy general manager, AICL (Bhubaneswar regional office).
 
In Odisha, the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) during the kharif 2015 crop season is implemented by AICL. As on October 31, as many as 1,715,000 farmers (including 150,000 non-loanee farmers) covering 1,511,000 hectares of land have been covered under the scheme, with a sum assured of Rs 5,598.15 crore. The sum assured might touch Rs 6,600 crore by November-end, covering two million farmers.
 
Claims are calculated on the basis of shortfall in the current-season yield, obtained from crop-cutting experiments conducted by state governments.
 
The amount paid would also supplement the farmers for harvest of rabi crops. It would also help the farmers repay their loans by due date (March 31, 2016), making them eligible for interest subvention, Singh added.
 
According to officials estimates, the claims to be settled under crop insurance might touch Rs 1,000 crore, surpassing all previous records. The Odisha government has identified 10 crops to be covered under the NAIS for 2015 crop season. These are paddy, maize, groundnut, niger, red gram, cotton, jute, turmeric, ginger and banana.
 
Gram panchayats, notified area councils, and municipalities have been taken as unit for insurance of paddy. For rest of the crops, a block is considered as the unit area for assessment of crop loss.