₹247 crore released to provide UP farmers’ crop insurance

Lucknow: UP govt approved Rs 450 crore subsidy as part of the National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP), a crucial protective measure for farmers amid instances of crop damage caused by inclement weather. A sum of Rs 247.39 crore was released to be paid as premium for insurance cover to farmers against crop losses.

As per a directive to agricultural directorate on May 15, the sum will be spent on guidelines charted out by central and state govts. The directorate will have to spend the sum in a financial year and present the utilisation certificate.

Introduced by Centre in 2013 to protect farmers from financial losses by crop failures caused by non-preventable natural risks like droughts, floods, cyclones, hailstorms, pest attacks, and plant diseases, NCIP was restructured and merged into India’s highly upgraded flagship programme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), in 2016.

Govt bears maximum part of insurance premium, helping farmers avail of it at highly affordable rates. The remaining actuarial premium cost is fully subsidised and split between central and state govts.

Farmers pay a capped, minimal premium, while balance is shared equally (50:50) between central and state govts. In Kharif season, farmers pay 2% premium of total sum to cover crops like paddy, black gram and pearl millet. In Rabi, farmers pay 1.5% premium to cover wheat, mustard and potato crops. For commercial/ horticultural crops, farmers have to pay a 5% premium of the total sum insured.

PMFBY follows principle of 'One Nation, One Crop, One Premium’, ensuring uniformity and fairness in premium rates across the country.

Over the years, the scheme has enrolled over 56.8 crore farmer applications across India and UP is leading states for consistently.

Sources said annual farmer application enrolments in UP hover between 35 lakh and over 70 lakh applications depending on Kharif and Rabi seasons and weather forecasts.