Farmers wary of receiving crop insurance benefits

Vikarabad: Farmers of the district have been lamenting that the crop insurance officials did not pay a single rupee towards insurance for the crop loss in the district following crop failure in 2016 and 2017.

The farmers have paid premium to derive benefit under the fasal yojna but did not receive a single rupee towards crop insurance. In the district, farmers mainly grow red gram and cotton. Besides, the farmers also raise black gram, green gram, maize and paddy.
In 2017, the area under various crops in the district was 1,21,677 hectares. Standing crops in thousands of acres were damaged on account of heavy rains experienced in October that year.

Mandal level agriculture and revenue officials submitted report to the district officials putting the total loss at Rs 42.95 crore.Cotton crop was damaged in 8794 acres, maize in 2300 acres, paddy in 8481 acres and red gram in 39,425 acres.

In 2016 also crops sustained losses. So far, not a single paisa has been paid towards crop insurance to the farmer.

Crop insurance authorities have told the officials that they would pay the compensation depending on the weather reports prepared mandal-wise. Depending on the extent of rainfall in each mandal, the compensation would be paid.

But the farmers have been questioning how long the insurance officials take to assess the damage. Claiming to have paid thousands of rupees towards the premium, they said they were at a loss to comprehend the delay in payment of compensation.

The farmers are apprehensive that the insurance company officials will throw off their hands expressing their inability to pay compensation on the basis of weather in the same fashion as they backed off in payment compensation to paddy farmers affected by mosquito.

When confronted by the farmers, the helpless government authorities on tour to villages have tough time warding off questions from the farmers. They had only this to say, “Money will be credited to farmers’ bank accounts as and when the compensation is sanctioned.”