The Bengal government has set the ball rolling for implementing the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), deciding to bear even the farmers’ share of the insurance premium. 

Under PMFBY, farmers pay 2 per cent of the premium for Kharif crops, 1.5 per cent for Rabi crops and 5 per cent for annual commercial and horticultural crops, with the balance shared by the Centre and the state. 

“In Bengal, we have decided to bear the farmers’ share as well. We have written to the Centre seeking permission so that farmers do not have to pay a single penny for crop insurance,” Agriculture Minister Dudhkumar Mondal said.

Under the Bangla Shasya Bima scheme during the previous Trinamool Congress government, the entire premium was borne by the state. Alleging irregularities in the earlier scheme, Mondal said many genuine beneficiaries were deprived. 

“We will ensure that not a single genuine beneficiary is left out,” he said. The minister recently met representatives of four insurance companies and senior Agriculture department officials, assuring them that PMFBY would be implemented with “100 per cent transparency” and that all eligible farmers would receive the benefits. 

The scheme covers crop losses during sowing and cultivation, post-harvest losses while crops remain in the field, and damage caused by adverse weather. An Agriculture department official said the state would sign agreements with insurance companies immediately after receiving the Centre’s approval to bear the farmers’ premium share. 

This would be followed by a statewide awareness campaign down to the block level to help farmers affected by excessive rainfall and other adverse weather apply for insurance claims. Initially, the scheme will cover paddy cultivators, while a decision on extending coverage to potato growers will be taken later.

 

Source - https://www.millenniumpost.in