Punjab seeks inclusive crop insurance scheme

The state demands that the insurance scheme should cover the produce lying in market yards, waiting to be bought by agencies

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, hailed as one of the most farmer-friendly crop insurance schemes of independent India, has run into rough weather in Punjab. The state is at loggerheads with the Centre over the efficacy of the crop insurance scheme.

"The new scheme provides an indemnity level of 90 per cent. In Punjab, the average loss of major crops, wheat and paddy, is between two per cent and three per cent. So our farmers will not benefit from this scheme. In a written submission to the Union ministry of agriculture, the state has sought the indemnity level be raised to 95 per cent," Punjab's Agriculture Minister Tota Singh said.

"The scheme proposes the average crop size over the previous 10 years as the benchmark for indemnity; we have requested the Centre to consider only the previous year's crop as a parameter. The new crop insurance is aligned to the needs of rainfed states. Punjab is never declared drought-hit and farmers are provided assistance in the form of free power to exploit groundwater to save crops. Last year, we spent an additional Rs 1,400 crore on power subsidy to agriculture to save the kharif paddy. Our annual average power subsidy to agriculture is an estimated Rs 5,000 crore, which helps us maintain the nation's food security," Singh added.

The harvest lying in the field is covered by weather insurance. In Punjab, due to mechanical harvesting and efficient transport, the harvest reaches the market in 48 hours. The state wants that the insurance scheme should also cover the produce lying in market yards, waiting to be bought by agencies.

Punjab also wants the insurance premium to be scaled down to one per cent. Farmers in the state have huge debts and many cannot afford the insurance premium.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 25, asking him to include the state's demands in the insurance scheme. A reply is awaited.