Assam: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) Progressing in State

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The success of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has been showing mixed results in Assam, with farmers' participation in the scheme fluctuating from year to year. The state, however, has seen good progress in crop insurance during the Kharif season of 2024.

A total of 6,35,668 farmers have insured their crops spread over 487 thousand hectares. This showed an increase of nearly double the number of farmers and the area covered under the scheme. The benefits derived by farmers are yet to be worked out, as the season ended in October only.

However, the number of farmers subscribing to the crop insurance scheme in the Rabi season of 2024 has not reached the desired level to date. The number of farmers taking out crop insurance in Assam is only 4,500 farmers, with an area of 4.07 thousand hectares covered by PMFBY. The Rabi season in Assam lasts from October to March, and there is still time for farmers to apply, which gives some hope to Agriculture Department officials.

According to official sources, the farmers in Assam have not been benefitted as desired, leading to less participation in PMFBY. For instance, in the 2021 Rabi season, the number of farmers insuring their crops was 5,63,407, covering 364 thousand hectares. The total number of farmers deriving benefits was 57,213. In the 2021 Kharif season, the number of farmers insuring their crops was 5,76,198 and the area covered was 309 thousand hectares, while the total number of farmers deriving benefits from the crop insurance scheme was 94,409.

Compared to this, in the Rabi season of 2022, the number of farmers insuring their crops dropped to 2,17,431 while the area covered was halved to 171 thousand hectares. A total of 12,143 farmers derived benefits from the scheme. In the Kharif season of 2022, the number of farmers opting to insure their crops dropped to 2,47,745 and the area covered also declined to 170 thousand hectares. A total of 11,137 farmers derived benefits from the scheme, indicating the sharp decline in farmers deriving benefits under the crop insurance scheme.

Again, in the 2023 Rabi season, the number of farmers participating in the scheme was 2,35,664, with an area of 174 thousand hectares covered. The number of farmers benefitted has, however, not been published till now. The Kharif season of 2023 saw an increase in the number of farmers insuring their crops, with 3,51,996 farmers subscribing to the Yojana, and an area of 263 thousand hectares was covered, registering an increase of 93 thousand hectares under crop insurance. A total of 49,764 farmers derived benefits from the scheme, the increase in the number of farmers benefitting from the scheme showing a more than four-fold hike.

It should be mentioned here that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was introduced in February 2016 to provide insurance service to the farmers for their yield. It was formulated in line with the one nation-one scheme theme by replacing the earlier two schemes, the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and the Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS), by incorporating their best features and removing their inherent drawbacks. The Assam government rolled out the PMFBY from the same year.

The premium for the PMFBY is highly subsidized by both state and central governments. Farmers have to contribute a negligible amount.

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