Stating that agricultural insurance schemes have "failed to benefit" desired number of farmers, the CPI(M) today demanded that the Government ensure that the new Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana covers all sections of peasants including marginal ones.
"Such schemes (agricultural insurance schemes) until now have failed mainly because only a limited number of farmers were benefited by those. The present government will make some changes to the old schemes and implement.
"But the question remains, whether marginal peasants who form 70-75 per cent of country's peasants will be benefited? The government should strive for that," Hannan Mollah, general secretary of party's farmers' wing All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), said.
Noting "well-off" farmers have reaped benefits of insurance schemes so far, Mollah demanded that the Government also bring tenant peasants under the net of PMFBY.
"Tenant peasants are the ones who don't own land, but cultivate farms for others. Given they don't own land, they don't receive benefits of the schemes. We want government to cover them too," the ex-Parliamentarian said.
Faced with two consecutive drought years, Centre today cleared the PMFBY under which farmers' premium has been kept at a maximum of two per cent for food grains and oilseeds and up to five per cent for horticulture/cotton crops.
The scheme, which replaces existing National Agricultural Insurance Scheme, will be rolled out from kharif season this year.
