Centre pitches for affordable premium under crop insurance

The Centre is examining the issue of rising premiums under the existing crop insurance programme, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said today.
Addressing a national conference on crop insurance here, Singh said, "The issues of rising premium rates under existing crop insurance programme are being examined and we have to make efforts for bringing the premium rates at a reasonable level which could be affordable to the farmers."
The Centre has started discussion with states and all stakeholders on further improving upon the insurance product, which would not only ensure the farmers against yield loss but also provide security for their income, he said.

There are various other issues being deliberated at present in implementation of various crop insurance schemes, he said in a statement issued by the Agriculture Ministry.
The necessary inputs from the conference would be helpful in designing an effective crop insurance schemes, he added.
Highlighting the importance of crop insurance, Singh said although farmers are adopting both traditional and improved technological practices to mitigate production losses due to monsoon uncertainty, crop insurance is considered an important mechanism to effectively address the risks to outputs and income, resulting from various natural and manmade events.

Despite technological and economic advancements, the condition of farmers continues to be unstable due to natural calamities and fluctuations in yield as well as price of agricultural produce, he said.

It was way back in 1985, the government came up with a Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme (CCIS) to provide protection to the loanee farmers against their yield losses due to natural calamities.
Later, it was replaced with National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) from 1999-2000 but the scheme could not translate into actuarial regime as conceptualized.
So, a restructured scheme 'National Crop Insurance Programme' (NCIP) was introduced from 2013-14 with different components to compensate farmers differently by using different methodology for computing crop losses to farmers.
"However, some of the states adopted the MNAIS (modified NAIS) and some states have expressed few reservations about its implementation. Hence, states have been allowed to implement MNAIS or NAIS on their choice," the minister said.