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Editor’s Note

What ails much-touted Crop

Insurance Scheme in India?

When the national Commis- crop insurance scheme in 2016-17 but the number came
sion of Farmers, chaired by Fa- down to 4.87 crores in 2017-18.
ther of Green Revolution in India, Among the States, the maximum number of 31.25
Mankombu Sambasivan Swami- lakh farmers withdrew from the scheme in Rajasthan,
nathan pointed out that something 19.46 lakhs from Maharashtra, 14.69 lakhs from Uttar
“very serious and terribly wrong is Pradesh, 11.29 lakhs from Karnataka and 2.90 lakhs from
happening in the countryside,” it Madhya Pradesh. That is another point of concern. Had
was clear that steps were needed to the scheme be beneficial to farmers, no farmer would
mitigate distress in the agriculture sector. quit it. Are the methods to assess crop loss not farmer-
Keeping in view various type of risks involved in agri- friendly or claims settlement procedure cumbersome
culture, the government came out with an ambitious and time-consuming? Has the scheme been linked with
scheme called “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana” to the ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’ to make it truly inclusive?
provide insurance cover to farmers in case of a crop There is a need to provide relief to farmers imme-
failure. Insurance companies overwhelmingly partici- diately for a crop failure by linking these to the process
pated in the scheme. But instead of benefiting farmers, of direct benefit transfers. In recent times, the country
the scheme has benefited insurance companies. is experiencing unseasonal rains, dust, and thunder-
Tehelka Cover Story in this issue and a subsequent storms, causing extensive damage to crops at the time of
series would unravel the truth of PMFBY. In 2016-17, sowing, harvesting, and marketing. With freak weather
the difference between the premiums received and becoming more imminent, measures to provide protec-
compensation paid to farmers was 6459.64 crores. tion to farmers against these risks is need of the hour.
In 2017-18, they paid over 2,000 crores less by way of Experts suggest the use of information and communi-
claims and the margin of insurance companies went cation tools to help farmers regain faith in crop insur-
up to 9,335 crores. A thorough probe in this matter is ance schemes and make them more efficient and trans-
necessary to find out if this profit from a social welfare parent. After all mitigating risk in the agriculture sector
scheme is legitimate. Also, there is a need to find out has a direct implication for productivity in the farm sec-
why more than 84 lakh farmers, which is around 15% of tor and the welfare of farmers.
the total farmers insured in the first year of the scheme,
withdrew themselves from the scheme in 2017-18.
About 5.72 crores farmers enrolled themselves for the (chARAnjIt AhujA)

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Volume 16, Issue no. 4, 16-28 february 2019, RELEASEd on 16 february, numbER oF pAgES IncLudIng covER 68
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