HYDERABAD: Confusion and distress seem to reign supreme among farmers in the State. Unable to contact the companies providing them insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, many farmers who have suffered crop damage due to the recent rains and thunderstorms are turned helpless. According to data obtained from the agriculture department, crops in at least 37,000 hectares have been damaged due to heavy rains across the State, impacting over 39,000 farmers.
One indication of the chaos and confusion is the number of calls being received by the non-profit organisation, Kisan Mitra, whose helpline for farmers has been buzzing constantly for the past few weeks.
T Sreeharsha, one of the coordinators at Kisan Mitra told Express that although the organisation is working only in three districts in the State — Adilabad, Mancherial and Vikarabad — it is receiving calls from distressed farmers across districts, seeking a way to reach out to the right authorities and get compensation for the damage to their crops caused by the weather.
On average, the organisation has been receiving close to a thousand calls per day, many of which are regarding crop losses due to the extreme weather conditions. There are two companies providing crop insurance in Telangana — Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited and IFFCO Tokio. “A major problem being faced by the farmers is lack of proper connectivity with the insurance companies. At IFFCO Tokio there are no Telugu-speaking customer care executives,” Sreeharsha said.
When Express tried to contact the Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited, multiple attempts to connect to the Telangana toll-free helpline number proved futile. Failure to reach the insurance company and a lack of Telugu-speaking customer care service is no less than a fatal setback for the farmers who have suffered crop damage. This after a farmer is mandated to intimate the insurance company regarding the losses within 48 hours, in order to claim insurance.
Non-insured farmers
In a Facebook post on the issue published on Friday, Shruti N of Kisan Mitra mentions, “Many farmers haven’t even taken the crop insurance because either they haven’t been enlightened about the process or they didn’t renew their crop loans in the hope of loan waiver or they don’t have the requisite land documents which will make them eligible for crop loans or they are not hopeful of getting any claim amount given their past experiences.”
These farmers are extremely discouraged about getting compensation from the State government. Sreeharsha says that many farmers complained that they did everything possible, from approaching the district agriculture officer to the agriculture extension officer but to no avail. “In many cases, the officials don’t take up the estimation of losses also,” he added.
Pointing out how difficult it is to make the government pay compensation to weather-affected farmers, Sreeharsha recalled that farmers in Adilabad who lost their crops to heavy rains in August last year, were paid compensation one year later, and only after directions from the Telangana High Court.