Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) plagued by hurdles
A recent report states that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) suffers from bottlenecks, and needs to be reconsidered.
PMFBY is a comprehensive crop insurance scheme. It was started to remove the agricultural uncertainties of the farmers.
The plan is getting in the way. As a result, farmers are facing problems like dissatisfaction, exit from the scheme by state governments and loss of interest to insurance companies.
Challenges in implementation of PMFBY
Delay in payment to farmers:
Insurance companies do not pay the farmers on time. Also, the state governments do not release their share of premium on time. Insurance companies provide lesser reimbursement to the farmers as compared to the premium collected.
Administrative Challenges:
The next season’s harvest time may come, but the previous season’s yield figures are not finalized on time by the states. It is to be noted that these figures are the main criteria supporting the claims of the farmers.
Non-availability of correct records of land
The northeastern states are facing challenges such as lack of interest by insurance companies and lack of state budgetary resources to pay their share of premiums.
Technical constraints:
Precisely forecasting and forecasting rainfall and other weather conditions remains challenging.
It is noteworthy that the premium to be paid by farmers under PMFBY has been fixed at 1.5% for Rabi crops, 2% for Kharif crops and 5% for cash crops.
Earlier, till the year 2020, the remaining premium was split equally between the Center and the states. Presently the contribution of the central government is 30% for un-irrigated crops and 25% for irrigated crops. For the North Eastern Region, the subsidy share between the Center and the State is 90:10.
Source – The Hindu
