THANJAVUR: The extension of the cut-off date for insuring crop coupled with the heavy rain forecast a week ahead of the revised deadline pushed the extent of samba and thaladi paddy cultivation insured in the district by as much as 70% in two weeks to put the final figure for this year at 2.43 lakh acres. A total of 892 revenue villages were notified in the district for insuring samba paddy cultivation under the revamped Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) scheme this year, and the cut-off date for paying the premium was fixed as November 15. Interested farmers had to pay Rs 548 per acre in premium for an assured sum of Rs 36,500/acre.
Although the seasonal crop in many villages was affected in the past, during the commencement of the season this year, farmers showed reluctance in insuring their paddy cultivation saying that only very few villages were notified as eligible for insurance claim payouts in the past three years. As a result, only 8% of the area cultivated was insured by November 6 – hardly 10 days shy of the original deadline of November 15.
The coverage, however, improved to 73% by the time the deadline was up, with 58,255 farmers insuring their paddy raised on 1.77 lakh acres. Heeding to demands for extending the cut-off date for insuring crop, the state government took up the matter with the Union government and insurance companies.
Following this, the deadline was extended to November 30, 2024. As a result, the coverage increased by 70,531 acres in two weeks to stand at 2,47,602 acres on November 30, the revised cut-off date. While 86,863 farmers insured their seasonal crop on 2.43 lakh acres of the total 2.82 lakh acres on which its cultivation was taken up last year, this year 92,901 farmers have insured paddy cultivated on 2.47 lakh acres, agriculture and farmers’ welfare department officials said. While the target acreage was set at about 3.4 lakh acres this year, samba paddy cultivation taken up in the district stood at 2,78,312 acres as on November 30.
On the reasons for the increase in extent of cultivation under insurance coverage, Sami Natarajan of Orathanadu, who is the state general secretary of Tamil Nadu farmers’ association, told TNIE, “Agriculture department officials encouraged farmers to insure their crop during the extended time. The farmers also insured their crops after the forecast of heavy rains due to the deep depression in Bay of Bengal which later intensified into Cyclone Fengal. These led to an increase in the coverage.”