UP Government to Hold Special Campaign to Provide Crop Insurance to Farmers

The state government has decided to conduct a special drive during the first week of July in order to give insurance coverage to farmers against probable crop damages.

The ambitious PM Crop Insurance Scheme (PMCIS) from the Center's agriculture department is proposing to carry out the drive between July 1 and July 7 on those development blocks with lesser farm insurance coverage.

A compensation of Rs 3,074.6 crore has reportedly been transferred into the accounts of 27.5 lakh farmers in UP as of this point under PMCIS, according to sources in the UP government.

"3,000 Crore In Compensation Transferred To 27.5 Lakh Farmers"

The drive would cover a few development blocks in each of the eight aspirational districts: Bahraich (Risia block), Shrawasti (Sirsia), Balrampur (Utraula), Siddharthnagar (Latan), Fatehpur (Bijaipur), Chitrakoot (Ramnagar), and Chandauli, according to a directive from additional chief secretary for agriculture, Devesh (Niyamtabad).

According to sources, 27.5 lakh UP farmers have received compensation through PMCIS totaling Rs 3,074.6 crore till date. This includes paying nearly 7 lakh farmers Rs 654.8 crore in crop compensation during the Kharif season of 2021. 19.9 lakh farmers have insured 14.2 lakh hectares for Rabi 2021–2022. Which is currently undergoing compensation. Data from the Union Agriculture Ministry show that between 2018-19 and 2019-20, the value of crop losses in UP more than doubled.

As per data compiled using state-specific business statistics as of August 31 of last year, crop loss claims increased significantly from about Rs 470 crore in 2018–19 to more than Rs 1,116 crore in 2019–20. In comparison to the stated loss, compensated claims in 2019–20 were Rs 1,092 crore, up from about Rs 40 crore in 2018–19. According to the data, the number of farmers who benefited from the PMCIS increased from 6 lakh in 2018–19 to over 9 lakh in 2019–20.

As per sources, areas where Dalits and Tribals are the majority need extra attention to encourage farmers to participate in the crop insurance scheme. The UP government intends to involve the district administration, banks, and Jan Suvidha Kendras in this as well. The agency also intends to use social media to share news and farmer success stories. Surya Pratap Shahi, the agricultural minister, will launch the drive on July 1 from Lucknow in customised campaign vehicles.