Madhya Pradesh govt plans to pay insurance premium of small farmers

Given this year’s unseasonal rain and hailstorm, which have affected small farmers in great measure, the state government is planning to pay the premium for their crop insurance.

According to officials, the government is preparing an insurance road map for farmers whose farmlands are of 2 hectares or less.

This will cost the exchequer Rs 25-30 crore.

Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel said: “There are a large number of farmers whose cultivation area is very small and they cannot afford insurance. The department is preparing a road map to help them. Talks have been held with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in this regard. The government is planning to pay their premium.”

Bharatiya Kisan Union State President Anil Yadav is not taken in by these promises.

“We do not take the government on trust . The old insurance has not been paid to farmers till now. The question is, why is the government being so kind to insurance companies? Instead of paying the premium of small farmers, why doesn’t it directly provide financial help to them,” he asked.

Madhya Pradesh has more than 10 million farmers, including small and marginal farmers. Small farmers, whose holding size is 1-2 acres, comprise 27.15 per cent of the total and 48.3 per cent are marginal farmers, who have a maximum of 1 hectare.