The Hindu Business Line : Now, insurance for farmers against excess rain

Mr Suparas Bhandari, Chairman and Managing Director, AIC, said that in many areas, crops were damaged due to excess rainfall during the current kharif season.

"As a result of heavy rainfall, farmers in parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra, for instance, have been complaining of decaying of seeds as well young crops. Farmers have had to replant. They, therefore, need to be insured against heavy rainfall."

Historical data regarding rainfall shows that certain areas in the country are vulnerable to excess rainfall. For instance, many areas in the North-East, and some areas in West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra would fall under this category.

According to Mr Bhandari, several areas in the North-East in particular do not have data regarding the yield of farmlands. With many farmers practising shifting cultivation, such data becomes more difficult to come by.

However, with rainfall data from the India Meteorological Department, specialised insurance covers against rainfall can be designed, he said.

With floods across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh this year, such a cover could find many takers. Varsha Bima received a good response from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

Maharashtra alone has 1.22 lakh farmers across 14 districts covered under this scheme. Farmers from Maharashtra paid a total of Rs 3 crore as premium to cover crops such as bajra, jowar, soyabean and tur.

The National Agriculture Insurance Scheme, which is run by the Government, covered 1.8 crore farmers across 23 States and two Union Territories in 2004-05. This scheme, unlike Varsha Bima, is based on the yield data and is compulsory for farmers who have taken loans from financial institutions.

A joint group set up by the Ministry of Agriculture to review this scheme submitted its report in December 2004. The suggestions in the report include reduction of the unit area of insurance to the village panchayat level rather than the current taluka or block level and coverage of pre-sowing planning risks (i.e. prevented sowing on account of adverse seasonal conditions) where the indemnity payable may be 20-25 per cent of the sum insured.

The report also proposes to determine the threshold guaranteed yield based on the best five years out of the preceding seven years' yield data and the individual assessment in the case of localised calamities such as hailstorm, landslide and damage due to wild animals.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Now, insurance for farmers against excess rain

CII survey finds healthy growth in manufacturing

Textile exports dip despite end of quotas

Foreign broking cos turn cautious on equity market

Some strange bull leap'd your father's cow!

Work towards energy independence: Kalam

Corporates go on air for a cause this Independence Day

Exports to Pakistan — Sugar release order likely this week