New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: In a major relief to farmers in states like Odisha with high human-wildlife conflict, the Centre Tuesday announced that crop losses due to wild animal attacks will be covered under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from the Kharif sowing season 2026.
In addition, losses incurred due to inundation of paddy crops because of heavy rains and floods will also be covered under the PMFBY.
In a statement, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoAFW) pointed out that farmers across India have been facing crop losses due to attacks by wild animals, such as elephants, wild boars, nilgai, deer, and monkeys.
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“These incidents are particularly common in regions situated near forests, wildlife corridors, and hilly terrains,” it added.
“Under the revised framework, crop loss due to wild animal attack will now be recognised as the fifth Addon Cover under the Localised Risk category,” it said, adding that states will notify the list of wild animals responsible for crop damage and identify vulnerable districts or insurance units based on historical data.
“Farmers will be required to report losses within 72 hours using the Crop Insurance App by uploading geotagged photographs,” the MoAFW said. Many states have been making demands in this regard.
“The modalities have been prepared in accordance with the PMFBY Operational Guidelines, ensuring a scientific, transparent and operationally feasible framework for implementation nationwide, and will be rolled out from Kharif 2026,” the statement said.
The ministry noted that crop losses due to wild animal attacks often went uncompensated as they were not covered under the crop insurance.
“Paddy farmers in flood-prone and coastal states have been repeatedly affected by inundation during heavy rains and overflowing waterways,” the statement said.
Paddy inundation was removed from the localised calamity category in 2018 due to concerns about moral hazard and the difficulty of assessing submerged crops.
However, its exclusion led to a significant protection gap for farmers in districts prone to seasonal flooding.
Taking note of these emerging risks and challenges, the Department of Agriculture constituted an expert committee.
The recommendations of the committee have now been approved by the Union Minister of Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The ministry said it has now recognised the modalities for covering ‘crop loss due to wild animal attacks and paddy inundation’ under the PMFBY.
“With this important decision, farmers suffering localised crop damage will now receive timely and technology-based claim settlement under PMFBY,” the statement said.
This coverage is expected to significantly benefit farmers in states with high human–wildlife conflict, including Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand.
Farmers in the Himalayan and Northeastern states such as Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh will also benefit.
Paddy farmers in coastal and fl ood-prone states will also be covered under the scheme.
