The government on Thursday started two new websites to inform farmers on extreme weather events and existing crop insurance schemes. The weather alert service called Nowcast will collect information from 146 weather stations spread across the country and send instant text messages to farmers located in areas likely to be affected by extreme weather events. A new crop insurance portal (www.farmer.gov.in/insurance ) will inform farmers on types of crops covered, premium rates and cut-off dates for applying in their districts of residence. The new services are part of the risk mitigation efforts by the government in view of the adverse weather events in the recent past—deficit monsoon in the June-to-September Kharif season of 2014 and unseasonal rains just ahead of the winter (Rabi) harvest this year. The government will roll out more web-based applications to assist farmers in the coming days, an agriculture ministry statement said. These include information on inputs, soil health, good practices and marketing.
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