PMFBY Update: After waiting for a long time, millet crops in Kerala have secured a place in the RWBCIS or Restructured Weather based Crop Insurance Scheme implemented by Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC).
As per the suggestions of the farming community, the State Level Coordination Committee on Crop Insurance or SLCCCI has notified millets that include Sorghum (cholam), Pearl Millet (Bajra/Kambu), Finger Millet (Ragi/Koovaragu), Proso Millet (Panivaragu), Foxtail Millet (Thina), Barnyard Millet (Kavadappullu) and Little Millet (Chama) for the insurance scheme.
The Restructured Weather based Crop Insurance Scheme, being implemented in Kerala under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) since Kharif 2016, has recently integrated various farmer-friendly changes, inclusion of new crops under the scheme being the most important one. An official of AIC said that the progress is being carefully monitored by the growers and the technical experts to verify its results in Kharif & subsequent Rabi seasons.
The crop-specific insurance covers notified for millets include deficit rainfall (July to August), rise in day temperature (June to August) & unseasonal excess rainfall (May to September). The official said the cultivators are also eligible for claims assessed at individual field levels for the risk of inundation, high wind speed & landslides.
Indira Devi, former Director of Research, Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) told BusinessLine that “It is a welcome decision to encourage millet farming considering the climate change impacts & nutritional attributes. The decision can motivate the farmers in other parts of Kerala also, to further extend the area under farming of these super food crops”.
It is important to mention that Millets in Kerala is grown on 284 hectares in Idukki and Palakkad. Jowar is the main millet (174 ha) that is cultivated only Palakkad, producing almost 139 tonnes. The total output of Ragi is 110 tonnes both in Idukki and Palakkad. These are primarily grown by the tribes in these places. The government of Kerala has launched massive programmes for the promotion of millet farming in Attappadi area as these are ideal crops for hardy situation generally grown under rain-fed conditions.
