According to the Agriculture Ministry’s data, there are only a few takers of this scheme, which was launched with much fanfare in January this year.
Till now only 2.53 crore farmers have insured their crops under the scheme and out of which most of the farmers have opted the scheme due to loan obligation. It’s pertinent to mention here that it is necessary for farmers to insure crops at the time of borrowing crop loans.
In contrary to this, the number crop insurance beneficiaries in 2014-15 under National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) was 3.69 crore and out of which most of the farmers had opted the scheme willingly.
According to sources, the government had hoped to widen the net of crop insurance to 50 per cent from existing 26 per cent in the next three years. But, the results from the first crop season have been far from encouraging.
The data available till September 8 reveals that only 2.53 crore farmers have insured their crops, which also includes those who have done so under the weather-based crop insurance scheme.
Madhya Pradesh has 30.70 lakh insured farmers out of which 25.64 lakh farmers are those who have taken loan and as per practice they have to take insurance cover, while 5.06 lakh farmers have opted new insurance cover without any obligation.
In case of Andhra Pradesh, out of 20 lakh insured farmers, 19.33 lakh farmers are under the insurance cover due to loan obligation, while only 0.68 lakh farmers have enrolled for the new crop insurance scheme.
In case of Uttarakhand, out of total 1.25 lakh insured farmers, 1.16 lakh are those who are under loan and only 9,000 farmers are without loan. In Himachal Pradesh, out 46,820 insured farmers, 44,530 are under loan while 2,290 are without farm loan.
Given that the data is of early September and there are still some more months to go in this fiscal year, chances are there the figures would improve till the end of 2016. However, experts opine that it would not match the previous figures of 3.69 crore registered under NAIS in 2014-15.
“It’s a known fact that no farmer avails crop insurance out of his will. It’s just a trap as no farmers have ever got right compensation in proportion to the damage of their crops. Farmers pay premiums and when it comes to take compensation, they run from pillar to post to get petty amounts,” said farmers’ leader Nikhil Dey.