With crops having affected by recent unseasonal rains and hailstorm in some parts of north India, the Centre's new crop insurance scheme has created a buzz among farmers attending the 'Krishi Unnati Mela' in the national capital but its details still elude them.
Most farmers attending the three-day mela that ended today at Pusa campus wished to know more about the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) so that they can think of taking insurance cover for kharif crops to be sown from June.
The PMFBY will be rolled out from next month across the country. Under the scheme, farmers' premium would be up to 2 per cent of the sum insured and claims would be settled early.
"We have heard through Modi's speeches that a new crop insurance scheme has been launched. We don't know the details about it. If such a scheme is there, I am ready to take the policy this time," said a 56-year old farmer Jagdish from Atail village in Rohtak, Haryana.
Jagdish, who has grown wheat and onion this time on his five acres of land, said he is keen to go for the insurance cover for his crops as he has incurred losses because of hailstorm and unseasonal rains in last few days.
He said it was his second visit to the mela and found nothing interesting this time though the annual event has expanded length and breadth as compared to the previous year.
As Jagdish left mela purchasing some vegetable seeds for the next season, another sugarcane farmer Rajveer Singh from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh said: "We have no information about the new crop insurance scheme in our village. We want to know the details so that we can buy the policy."
The cane farmer, however, was happy that his dues have been cleared by Daulana Sugars Mills till February even as he demanded increase in cane support price next year.
Keen to know more about the crop insurance scheme, one UP-based farmer said he saw an hybrid papaya variety in the mela and wanted to know if vegetables are covered under the crop insurance. "If so, I will think of taking insurance cover this time," he added.
He grows wheat, paddy and some vegetables on one hectare of farm land in Gautam Budh Nagar.
Besides individuals, there were several groups of farmers and extension workers who visited the mela. For instance, a group of 'Krishi Sakhi' from Rajasthan's Alwar district was there gathering information at different stalls.
The Krishi Sakhi, which is associated with an NGO Ibtada, visits farmers in villages to create awareness about agriculture. The group was visiting mela for the second straight year and said there were more stalls this time and better display.
Interestingly, the annual mela continued to be a place for farmers to buy new varieties of seeds even as the government tried this time to hold workshops and seminars to create awareness about new programmes like soil health, irrigation and crop insurance scheme.
More farmers had thronged stalls selling seeds and other farm inputs. They were seen taking note of new seed varieties to plan for sowing in the next season but hardly holding leaflet on crop insurance or other schemes. This proves that the government needs to create more awareness about the programme at the grass-root level.
