Yes, here’s an article on Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana:
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana: Ensuring Crop Insurance for the Farmers
India, being an agricultural country, relies heavily on its agricultural sector for its economic growth. However, the sector is often at the mercy of nature, and natural calamities like draughts, floods, or pests can result in the loss of crops for the farmers, leading to a severe setback for them. Hence, to secure the farmers against such unfortunate events, the Central Government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in 2016.
The main objective of PMFBY is to provide crop insurance to farmers against crop losses due to natural calamities, pests, or other mishaps. PMFBY is an all-inclusive scheme that covers all the components of the crop cycle, including pre-sowing, sowing, and post-harvesting activities. Moreover, under PMFBY, farmers can insure their crops at a premium as low as 2% for Kharif crops and 1.5% for Rabi crops, while for horticulture crops, it is 5%. However, farmers have to pay only 2% of the sum insured for Kharif crops and 1.5% of the insured sum for Rabi crops, while for horticulture crops, it is 5% of the sum insured. The remaining premium is borne by the state and central governments.
Under PMFBY, the insurance companies assess the damage caused to crops and compensate the farmers for the loss suffered. The compensation is based on the area where the crop is grown, the type of crop, the extent of crop damage, and the prevailing market rates of the crop. Farmers are also encouraged to use modern technologies like GPS and smartphones to ensure accurate crop data and faster claim settlement.
PMFBY has been a game-changer for India’s agricultural sector by providing a significant boost to farmers’ income and ensuring food security. The scheme has reduced the financial burden on farmers by compensating for the crop loss, thus reducing their dependence on loans. Moreover, by providing crop insurance, farmers are confident of investing in their farms and expecting better returns, which results in increased agriculture production and better quality of crops.
In conclusion, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has been a path-breaking scheme in providing crop insurance to farmers and securing their livelihoods. However, implementation challenges and issues like lack of awareness, inter-state differences, and under-reserving need to be addressed to ensure the success of the scheme. If implemented effectively, PMFBY has the potential to transform India’s agricultural sector and help achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022.