Over 50 lakh farmers in Maharashtra opt for PM scheme for crop insurance

The maximum registrations are from the divisions of Latur and Aurangabad, with farmers without loans outnumbering those with loans in the scheme. Last kharif season, 84.07 lakh farmers had registered under the scheme.

Officers from the Agriculture department said they expect the registration to touch or cross last year’s numbers by the end of season.

Like other years, farmers who have not opted for institutional finance has outnumbered farmers who have availed of such finance in terms of insuring their crops. As many as 48.29 lakh non-loanee farmers and 1.91 loanee farmers have registered for the scheme.

The total amount insured till date is Rs 14,318.31 crore. Farmers have paid Rs 3,23.95 crore as their share of the premium while state and central governments have paid the remaining amount.

This season, the scheme in Maharashtra will be implemented in what is known as the ‘Beed model’. Named after the district in Marathwada, this model will see insurance companies returning a part of the premium in case the compensation amount falls below the premium amount collected.

In case compensation amount is higher than 110 per cent of the premium collected, the state government will pay the bridge amount.

This model  is to ensure insurance companies do not register windfall gains in years of lower pay-outs.

Meanwhile, after a relatively dry June, farming activity in the state has picked up with 1.05 lakh hectares of sowing reported as of last week. Cotton (36.87 lakh hectares) and soyabean (38.14 lakh hectares) are the most taken crops.

Cultivation of pulses, however, has seen a dip with farmers going for commercial crops like oilseeds and cotton. With the sowing window for pulses coming to an end, Maharashtra is expected to see bumper sowing of both cotton and soyabean this season.