DHARMAPURI: Over 81,475 acres of land belonging to 89,372 farmers was covered under the Revamped Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (RPMFBY) between 2016 and 2022, data shared by the Agriculture Department shows. Crop loss claims worth over Rs 42,14 crore were settled during the said period.
However, farmers in Dharmapuri claimed the Firka-based assessment of crop damage has its shortcomings and not all farmers benefit from the insurance scheme. Speaking to TNIE, J Prathapan, district secretary of the agriculturist farmers association said, “There is no doubt RPMFBY is a most important scheme, but firka-based assessment of crop damage and the notified crops list does not benefit several farmers.”
“Last year in Laligam village we were provided insurance only for maize and tomatoes. But there are many farmers in the firka who had cultivated ragi, tapioca or paddy and they were not provided with insurance. Insurance companies must include all crops cultivated by the firka,” he added.
R Selvaraj, a farmer in Nallampalli, said, “ Crop damage assessment is done based on farms flourishing in each firka. My village is drought-prone, But another village has access to water and farmers flourish. In such cases, if an assessment is done of a flourishing farm, this means farmers who had faced crop damage lose insurance amount. We need individual insurance schemes for all crops.”
R Perumal of Palacode said, “Last year, we had no insurance for cotton, so farmers who suffered losses were denied insurance. “ When contacted, an officer in the agriculture and farmer welfare department said, “The firka based assessment is random. The fields where the assessment is sent to us and staff from the insurance company, statistics department, and Agriculture department oversee the assessment. It is calculated accurately and not compromised.”
“Between 2016 - 2022, we distributed Rs 42,14 crore to 89,372 farmers. As per the data, for every rupee a farmer had spent on crop insurance, they have received a return of Rs 120. Over 88,147 farmers which is 96% of the farmers who have applied under this scheme have benefitted. In 2022-23 alone, 31,967 farmers have insured an area of 10,166.92 hectares.
Farmers have provided a share of 1.37 crores and insured their crops for a sum of Rs 91.13 crores. Regarding the RPMFBY, it’s one of the most beneficial schemes to farmers and the number of farmers enrolling under the scheme is increasing over the years, “ he added.