The dark clouds swarm overhead. Shankar Jagtap must finish sowing his little bag of corn seeds. But his bulls just won’t budge; they don’t have much strength left. ‘‘I am just sowing these for the sake of it,’’ the farmer mutters, holding out a handful of corn seeds. ‘‘But as you can see it’s not easy when my cattle are not doing well.’’ After living without rains for two years on his seven acres in Washi taluk, 300 km east of Mumbai, Jagtap — who used to cultivate jowar, pulses and soyabean — decided to limit himself to one crop: Corn. He also enrolled himself as a member of the Washi Vividh Karyakari Seva Society, a co-operative movement of farmers and traders. Through it, he insured his crop under the government-run crop insurance scheme for farmers and paid Rs 2,000 as premium last year. The crop failed. Jagtap filed for his insurance claim, but like scores of farmers in Latur and Osmanabad, he hasn’t got a paisa. ‘‘It’s too late already. We should have sown the seeds by now,’’ complains Kalyan Ruikar, who owns 2.5 acres of land. ‘‘I was hoping to get at least Rs 500 from the insurance scheme.’’ The sum of Rs 500 means a lot to small farmers like Ruikar when a small bag of udad dal seeds costs Rs 125. He needs at least two bags for his fields, plus Rs 1,000 for manure and fertilisers. Jagtap had to choose between buying seeds and fodder. He chose the seeds, and his under-nourished cattle now feed on dry grass. Farmers line up outside a shop that sells seeds and manure, discussing how much they hope to get as insurance. Shyamsunder Pathki, the shopkeeper, hands over packets of seeds and makes notes in his diary. No money changes hands. ‘‘For the last four years, I have been returning 90 per cent of the seeds to the companies I buy them from,’’ he says. ‘‘And whatever little I sell is on credit.’’ Like the monsoons, the crop insurance scheme also failed last year. The scheme was floated nearly a decade ago but farmers have begun realising its importance only in the last three dry years. Revenue Department officials from Latur and Osmanabad claim this is the first time that settlement of claims has been delayed. Some attribute it to the elections. Others say the insurance company didn’t value the land under cultivation accurately. ‘‘Often, farmers pay the premium for crops that will give them a high return in case of crisis,’’ an official at the Osmanabad collectorate explains on the condition of anonymity. ‘‘But they grow a different crop and when the insurance company goes to value the losses, it notices the disparity and the settlement gets delayed.’’ Following a meeting with Deputy CM Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil last week, local authorities of the two districts have convinced farmers the money will come soon. But the farmers have threatened to protest in case of further delay. Aalim Qazi, chairman of the Washi Vividh Karyakari Seva Society, and others have threatened to go on a fast-unto-death if the claims are not disbursed by June 15.
