Assam cuts a sorry figure in crop insurance

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: A poor show since inception in 2016–17 is the tale of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in Assam. And the reason behind this poor showing is a lack of awareness among the farmers in the state.

Since the inception of the scheme in 2016–17, coverage under the scheme has been around 30 percent of Gross Cropped Area (GCA) at the national level. Compared to that, the percent coverage of GCA in Assam was just 7.63 percent in 2022–23, 14.45 percent in 2021–22, 26.35 percent in 2020–21, 13.95 percent in 2019–20, 1.20 percent in 2018–19, and 1.02 percent in 2017–18 and 2016–17. This is against the 40.87 lakh hectares of gross cropped area (GCA) in the state.

According to sources in the Agriculture Department, in 2016–17 and 2017–18, PMFBY covered only 0.42 lakh hectares of cropland. In those two financial years, the number of participating farmers was too low, as was the amount of the claim. “However, from 2018–19, we have started to improve our performance by covering 0.49 lakh hectares with 76,000 farmers taking part. The amount of crop insurance in that year was Rs 316.84 crore and the amount of paid claims was Rs 2.79 crore,” an official said, adding, “In 2019-20, the area insured under PMFBY was 5.70 lakh hectares with the participation of 10.06 lakh farmers, insuring Rs 4083.14 crore. The amount of paid claims in that year was Rs 89.07 crore.”

Like-wise, in 2020–21, the area insured under PMFBY was 10.77 lakh hectares, with the participation of 16.60 lakh farmers, insuring Rs 7474.28 crore. The amount of paid claims in that year was Rs 146.03 crore, the official said.

In 2021–22, the area insured under PMFBY was 5.90 lakh hectares, with the participation of 16.67 lakh farmers, insuring Rs 3857.06 crore. The amount of paid claims in that year was Rs 6.68 crore, the official said.

The worst performance is in 2022–23. The area insured under PMFBY in that year was only 3.12 lakh hectares, with the participation of only 4.84 lakh farmers, insuring Rs 2687.82 crore. The amount of paid claims in that year was only Rs 0.03 crore as of June 30, 2023, statistics received from the department said.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, along with the Weather Index-Based Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS), aims to support sustainable production in the agriculture sector by way of providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss or damage arising out of unforeseen natural calamities or adverse weather incidences and to help stabilize the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.

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