Despite farmers’ apprehension, the new crop insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, is considered a game changer.
“Agriculture is a highly risky venture,” says Nagi Reddy, a farmer in Anantapur. Reddy is a small farmer affected by uncertainty in crop production stemming from unpredictable weather events and pest attacks, especially in his cotton crop. He works on his 2.5-acre farm and the rest of the time, he clocks in as a tenant farmer at an adjacent farm. He scoffs when told about the Centre’s agricultural insurance in 2014.
The government has implemented various crop insurance schemes over the years in order to provide economic support to farmers in the event of a crop failure. The two crop insurance schemes that have been operational in the country even before this agricultural insurance are National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) from 1999 and the more recent Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS). The former covered all food and commercial crops and provided compensation for yield losses due to natural causes. It was modified in 2013 to Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS). The WBCIS provided coverage for paddy crop yield losses due to rainfall only. Both the schemes fell short in financial performance and operational efficiency.
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