Bhubaneswar: The state government has decided to include eight major crops – paddy, groundnut, cotton, turmeric, ginger, millet, red-gram (arhar) and maize – under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for the Kharif season, 2020.
The registration process for framers to get their crops covered under the scheme is in progress and will conclude July 31. Farmers can register with banks, insurance companies, primary agricultural co-operative societies (PACS) and Common Service Centers (CSCs) in panchayats and blocks.
This was revealed at a meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy here Tuesday. As crop insurance registration is a voluntary matter for farmers, awareness campaign should be launched for the farmers in this regard.
Insurance companies, banks, field-level agricultural workers, farmers’ clubs and producers’ groups are urged to actively cooperate in the initiative.
Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment secretary Sourav Garg said that during the current Kharif season, eight crops have been included under the insurance scheme. The land record of farmers has been linked to the national crop insurance portal, he said.
Agriculture director Muthu Kumar said the amount of farmland insured had been steadily rising over the past four years. During the 2016 Kharif season, crops over an area of 12.57 lakh hectare were insured, while 13.46 lakh hectares were covered in 2017, 14.26 lakh hectares in 2018 and 18.52 lakh hectares in 2019, the director said.
Since 2014, crop testing has been successfully conducted through remote sensing applications and mobile apps. “Odisha is a leading state in this regard,” Kumar said.
According to sources, the scheme determines the amount of insurance depending on the size of the farmland and the crop type. Farmers have to pay 5 per cent of the sum insured for cash crops such as cotton, ginger & turmeric and 2 per cent for other crops. State and Centre are bearing 50 per cent each of the remaining amount of the premium.
As Odisha is a state prone to natural disasters, the Chief Secretary has directed the officials concerned to include more and more farmers under the PMFBY.
