For pay-outs under PMFBY: As heavy rain threatens kharif crop, 17 districts issue mid-season adversity notification in Maharashtra

As of Tuesday, Maharashtra has received 947.2 mm of rain as against the 866.4 mm of normal rain it is supposed to receive by this date.

Written by Parthasarathi Biswas

Pune | Updated: September 8, 2021 07:57 AM IST

2 min read

As incessant rain batters parts of the state, farmers fear damage to their almost-ready crops during the latest monsoon revival. District collectors of 17 districts have already issued mid-season adversity notification, which will allow farmers to claim insurance pay-outs under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

As of Tuesday, Maharashtra has received 947.2 mm of rain as against the 866.4 mm of normal rain it is supposed to receive by this date. Divisions of Konkan (2998.3/2580.3 mm) Aurangabad (744.0/552.2 mm) and Amravati (722.6/649.4 mm) have reported extremely heavy and excess rain.

The districts of Pune, Nashik and Nagpur have, however, reported near-normal or slight deficit in rainfall.

Read | Farmers in Maharashtra’s rain-deficit Vidarbha region worry over kharif crops

District collectors of Raigad, Palghar, Akola, Dhule, Hingoli,Pune, Sangli, Parbhani, Kolhapur, Buldhana,Jalgaon, Solapur, Nashik, Osmanabad, Nanded, Latur and Beed have issued notifications for mid-season adversity. Ground surveys are on in these districts to determine the extent of damage, after which the pay-off would be determined by the insurance companies.

Nandurbar and Amravati district collectors have also ordered similar surveys, to be undertaken after heavy rain abates in their areas.

Under the PMFBY, mid-season adversity is a trigger for weather conditions such as extreme rainfall and temperature which, once pressed, make farmers eligible for insurance pay-outs under PMFBY. Farmers insure their crops at the start of the agriculture cycle, which allows them to get compensation in case of crop loss. It is expected that insurance companies would start payments after the surveys are completed.

Unlike other states, farmers from Maharashtra have not faced moisture stress this kharif season. Rainfall has been patchy but enough for farmers who are expecting a bumper harvest. But the current extremely heavy rain can cause damage to soyabean, cotton, tur and other crops.

Story continues below this ad

On the other hand, harvesting of moong and urad is complete while the heavy rain will help the failing crops of onion in Nashik and other districts.

Parthasarathi Biswas

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories

Tags:

kharif crop pune