According to official reports, only two mandals in the district — Nandiwada and Vijayawada rural — were selected for crop insurance scheme last year. Farmers in these two mandals received `74 lakh under the scheme.

However, nearly 50 per cent of the farmers in the district had lost their crops due to Cyclone Nilam but the scheme was applicable in only two of the 50 mandals of the district.

Besides, as per the norms, every village is to be treated as a single unit and officials asked to conduct four tests in the entire village.

After the tests, the government would declare the entire village eligible for crop insurance, if two of the four tests proved that the crop had suffered damage. If not, the officials are bound to declare the entire village ineligible for crop insurance.

While a majority of the farmers lost their crops due to Nilam cyclone, they were unable to avail the insurance scheme due to these rules.

However, the bankers have been deducting the insurance premium, calculated at four-and-a-half per cent at the time of releasing the loans.

Farmers complained that they failed to get the insurance money even though they had paid the premium.

“If a cyclone or heavy rains hit the crop fields, only a few mandals are covered under the scheme, even though all farmers have to pay the premium,” A. Venkatappa Reddy, a farmer said.

In this backdrop, a majority of the farmers are reluctant to pay the insurance premium, making it hard for the government to implement the scheme effectively.

AP Rytaanga Samakya president Y. Nagendranath said that if the scheme was implemented effectively, the entire farming community would benefit.

Source - http://www.deccanchronicle.com/