The Centre has allowed States to notify losses to crops due to wild animal attacks as an add-on cover to the PM crop insurance scheme, according to Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister.

Replying to a query on inclusion of crop loss due to attacks by wild animal under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMBFY) in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, he said the scheme provides for comprehensive risk insurance against crop damage due to non-preventable natural risks from pre-sowing to post-harvest for the crops / areas notified by the State government concerned.

Stating that the losses to crops due to wild animals being preventable in nature, he said they were not covered.

“However, at the request of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and State governments, States have been allowed to notify the losses by wild animals on individual assessment as add-on cover keeping in view requirement of the State at their own cost. Detailed protocol for coverage has been given in the Operational Guidelines of the scheme,” he said.

Subsidy revised

According to the Minister, the review / revisions / rationalisation / improvements in the crop insurance schemes is a continuous process and decision on suggestion / representations / recommendations of the stakeholders / studies are taken from time to time after consultation with various stakeholders.

Accordingly, the Government has revised the premium subsidy sharing pattern from 50:50 to 90:10 between the Central and State governments in North-Eastern States (from Kharif 2020 season) and for the Himalayan states (from Kharif 2023 season). The premium sharing pattern of remaining States and union territories is 50:50 subject to certain conditions.

At present, there is no proposal to revise the subsidy sharing pattern between Centre and State in respect of attacks by wild animals under consideration before the Government, he said.

Digitisation of soil types

Replying to a separate question on digital recording of soil types and lands suitable for cultivation, the Minister said the Government is working towards digitization of soil types and land suitable for cultivation.

Stating that the Soil and Land Use Survey of India, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, is engaged in soil survey, soil mapping in the country using satellite data and ground observations, he said the soil map depicts different types of soils and its geographic extent. This spatial data is in digital domain. Based on soil maps, the interpretation and derivatives maps are prepared, which includes soil suitability maps for major crops, land capability and other thematic maps for sustainable agriculture.

He said the Government has initiated a nation-wide detail soil survey on 1:10,000 scale of entire cultivable area in the country for generation of village-level crop plans and planning soil-water conservation measures.

Horticulture value higher than cereals

To another query, the Minister said the value of output from cereals, including wheat and rice, was estimated at ₹6,93,223 crore; and the value of output from horticulture, including fruits and vegetables, was estimated at ₹8,27,201 crore during 2021-22 at current prices.

To encourage farmers for taking up horticulture and vegetable production that provide more value and remunerative prices in comparison to grain crops, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare is implementing a Centrally sponsored scheme — Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) — for holistic development of horticulture in the country. He said all states and union territories are covered under MIDH.

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