.jpg)
Ronit Raj
Bharati Vidyapeeth, New Law College
Introduction:
Back in 2016, the Indian government kicked off the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). The main goal? To lend a helping hand to farmers during tough times in agriculture. This scheme offers pretty extensive coverage—affordable crop insurance for all sorts of farmers. It protects against those pesky natural disasters that can’t be avoided, covering everything from before they plant right through to after they harvest. Since it launched, this initiative has turned into one of the biggest crop insurance plans ever in independent India. Can you believe it? Around 29.19 crore farmers have signed up to insure their crops. The best part? The scheme is designed to keep costs low for everyone involved. For instance, farmers only need to pay ₹2 for Kharif food and oil crops, ₹1.5 for Rabi food and oil crops, and ₹5 for horticultural crops. At its core, this policy is really about reducing the financial risks that farmers in India face and boosting the overall stability of the agriculture sector. It’s a big step towards helping those who work so hard to feed the nation.
Background and Rationale:
The yojana was launched in the background of 80% of Indian farmers facing severe challenges. Every year these farmers face droughts, floods, pests and other climate disasters. All these events threaten the very existence of Indian farmers. Before Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, all agricultural schemes were condemned as they used to charge high premiums with limited coverage.
To bridge this gap, the government came up with a more inclusive and accessible insurance program that would cover not only crop loss but also provide financial support for yield fluctuations due to pests, diseases, natural calamities and adverse weather conditions. With the use of technology including remote sensing and mobile applications for enrollment and claim processing, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana aims to make the insurance process simpler and transparent.
PMFBY also aims to increase agricultural production and productivity in the face of increasing population and food security. By providing a safety net, the policy encourages farmers to adopt better farming practices and invest in high-quality seeds and equipment.
These features further improve the access and usage of PMFBY. At the core, it is the mechanism of sharing of risk between the various stakeholders - government, farmers and insurance companies. Government subsidizes the premiums to make them affordable for farmers and insurance companies need to quickly and accurately assess the crops that fail. This approach provides incentives for participation as well as efficiency among health insurance providers.
Also, PMFBY insures Agri-based hazards for almost all sectors. This includes departures from average weather conditions which are measured through indicators like rainfall and temperature, yield-based estimates. It allows a single premium across the country, so farmers know the price. It provides cover for post-harvest losses which gives an additional advantage to farmers.
Modern technology is also one of the many features of PMFBY as the system uses satellite imagery and mobile apps for enrollment and claim processing. The shift to a data-driven model allows for better monitoring and evaluation of programs and transparency in operations.
Farmers should also know and be aware of their rights and entitlements under PMFBY from the government. Farmers’ capacity building and awareness programs are being conducted to educate farmers about the scheme and its process.
Effectiveness: Strengths and Potential Flaws:
Certain intrinsic strengths of PMFBY lend themselves to making it effective. First, it is affordable for farmers (particularly smallholders) since the premium rates are low—fixed at a maximum of 2% for Kharif crops and 1.5% for rabi crops. Due to this accessibility, insured acreage has increased dramatically since the inception of the scheme. In addition, the government’s move to simplify the application process and the digitization of data collection and claim settlement have improved operational efficiency. Innovative technologies, including satellite imagery and weather data, have augmented the precision of crop loss assessment, thereby lessening the potential for disputes surrounding claims.
Nevertheless, PMFBY is fraught with a plethora of challenges. Delaying claim settlements continues to be a major concern for farmers, most of whom get into financial distress in the absence of timely payouts when crops fail and reports have said that bureaucratic red tape, poor training of local officials and inefficiencies in handling data lead to those delays. If this is correct, then there are also inconsistencies in the quality and extent of coverage from one state to another, leading to varying experiences for farmers. Critics have previously argued that the policy does not address the specific challenges of farmers who grow rainfed or minor crops, leaving a section of the farming community vulnerable. Such pitfalls accentuate the necessity of continuous review and adaptive processes to reduce the gaps between the provisions of PMFBY and its desired outcome.
Impact on Stakeholders:
The largest stakeholders benefiting from the PMFBY scheme are farmers but it is also influenced by the insurance companies, state government and the Agricultural sector. The program acts as a crucial safety net for farmers, relieving fears of losing their crops to unforeseen events. PMFBY Offers crop coverage, cost of prevention, and felt need PMFBY makes refunds during times of distress, making the farmers feel free to continue their agriculture. This guarantee allows investment in modern crop techniques, quality seeds and sustainable practices that, all together, create an overall productivity increase.
However, the program brings challenges for insurance companies. With so many claims due (largely as a result of several natural disasters), risk management strategies must be enacted to facilitate the effective handling of this process. Insurers have balanced the need to maintain profitability and the need to fulfil their PMFBY obligations. This means that there may be increasing expectations of accurately quantifying risks and adjudicating claims fairly.
State governments lead the application of PMFBY and play an important role in this. They must make schemes for informed communication and dissemination about the PMFBY scheme to local farmers. However, this may put pressure on the local administration resources, particularly in agriculture-based states. In a broader sense, PMFBY benefits the national objectives to enhance food security and rural development. The scheme provides financial support to farmers, helps to improve the rural economy, reduces urban migration, and promotes balanced socio-economic development.
BENEFITS OF PRADHAN MANTRI FASAL BIMA YOJANA (PMFBY):
1. The standard valuation of farmers' contribution for decoration is maximally lessened as follows: 2 for Kharif crops, 1.5 for Rabi crops, and 5 for annual and commercial crops.
2. Provision scanned for eliciting the losses collectively for any localized threat, like hailstorms, alluvion, and landslides.
3. The assessment will be done for yield loss on each plot basis, whereas in the event of cyclones, rains from volcanoes, and unseasonal rains across the country damaged the crop, it shall remain on the field in a 'cut and spread' condition for a maximum of two weeks (14 days) from harvest to aesthetic application leading to drying.
4. The claim payment on behalf of averted sowing and localized losses is made to the planter.
5. The scheme shall promote the use of technology to a great extent. All crops entitled to the claim will be cut and photographed using smartphones. The data will be uploaded, thereby reducing the turnaround time for growers.
Challenges and Recommendations:
To make PMFBY sustainable and efficient in the long run, many hurdles still hinder its progress. The biggest one would be how fast claims are paid. The gap can be weeks and the concerned parties are left in financial woes during critical times. One might think of a simpler claims settlement with an emergency response mechanism where those with more pressing claims are given priority over the less urgent ones.
But the data is not outdated; they still have mental blocks. Many of these problems are because they rely on state agencies to report data which can lead to inaccuracies and uneven payouts. If they would only spend money on better data management and training local authorities, it would ensure that reports are high quality and the claims process is fair and unbiased.
Farmers would fall into this new pool of conditions that need to be aware why one needs to be insured. Farmers especially in remote areas may not be aware of the resources and programs available to them. Targeted outreach programs or workshops could be a great way to educate farmers on the features and benefits of PMFBY that will give them the decision-making information they need to enroll.
Increasing the coverage of PMFBY in crops and geography will be key to making the schemes keep their promise to protect farmers. Through engagement with agronomists and farmers, more crops would be included in the scheme and more understanding of the private sector’s involvement in what crops or regions are already covered. So, more farmers would benefit from the scheme and increase agricultural resilience.
Conclusion:
In the Prime Ministers Crop Insurance and Ingratiation (Fund) Campaign 2022-23 make sure you have no ad hoc issues and positive changes and in the long run increase farmers’ income in agricultural-dependent countries While there were convenience, Affordability and technology as strengths, needs in terms of claims processing, regional differences and stakeholder awareness to be addressed. Policymakers must act fast — remember promises need to be delivered on time.
Given the characteristics of Indian agriculture and PMFBY, here are some steps to increase economic diversification in Indian agriculture. Look above and suggest expanding PMFBY to include the crops that are not covered yet. More education and outreach to farmers to raise awareness of the scheme and make it more accessible to non-loanees who may not be aware of the scheme or the means to participate. And there should be a monitoring and evaluation system to track the impact of PMFBY regularly.
References:
Comments