Agriculture Minister N Raghuveera Reddy, on Thursday, stated that the government had decided to pay 25% of crop insurance amount for the farmers who suffer loss due to natural calamities, as immediate relief.
Talking to media persons at the Secretariat, Raghuveera Reddy said that the Centrally sponsored Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) would protect the farmers against losses incurred due to crop failure on account of natural calamities.
Reddy said that the insurance scheme, which covered all natural calamities and was farmer-friendly, had been implemented in 3 districts that include Nellore, Prakasam and Warangal, as a pilot basis for Rabi season.
Based on the response from the farmers, the scheme would be extended to other districts during Kharif season, Raghuveera Reddy pointed out.
The Minister stated that loanee farmers would be insured under ‘compulsory category’ while non-loanee farmers would be insured under 'voluntary category'.
“With the introduction of the modified scheme, it is expected that an increased number of farmers will be able to manage risk in agriculture production in a better way and will succeed in stabilising farm income, particularly at the times of crop failure on account of natural calamities,†the Agriculture Minister said.
Reddy said the implementation of the scheme would be reviewed once in 2 years for rectification of deficiencies.
Raghuveera Reddy pointed out that during Telugu Desam Party tenure, the government had paid Rs. 600 crores as crop insurance for 9 years, but, the Congress Government has paid Rs 2,700 crore as crop insurance for 6 years.
Reddy said that the Congress government was farmer-friendly and adopted welfare schemes for the benefit of farmers.