The government’s new crop insurance scheme could be a lifesaver for farmers at time when the pain of rural distress is unimaginable. The reports on the scheme are rosy and look like a lifeline and incentive for farmers at the mercy of the markets, international prices and nature’s vagaries. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna is an improvement on the old scheme as farmers will pay two per cent of the premium fixed by the insurance company for all crops in the kharif season and 1.5 per cent for rabi crops. For horticulture and commercial crops like cotton they will pay five per cent against the earlier 15 per cent. The remainder would by subsidised equally by the Centre and the state.
An interesting improvement on the earlier Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme is that claims will be settled quickly on the basis of remote-sensing drones and GPS technology. The formula for calculating losses remains complicated and leaves farmers at the mercy of the collector and patwaris. The draft even leaves it to the states to decide whether the unit for deciding compensation should be at the block, village or gram panchayat level. It is hoped that the Centre will be more specific.
The government expects to cover 50 per cent of the farmers, though one wonders why there is no universal coverage when it got 10 crore accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojna. Overall the PMFBY holds out hope.
