The Odisha government on Monday decided to cover eight crops under the Crop Insurance Scheme for the Kharif season 2022 and nine crops for the Rabi season 2022-23.
This was decided during the State Level Crop Insurance Coordination Committee meeting, which was presided over by Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra.
While reviewing crop insurance performance, the chief secretary directed insurance companies to ensure that all settled amounts are transferred directly to farmers' bank accounts within a couple of weeks. "Farmers' issues cannot be delayed," he said, and "all genuine claims must be paid on priority."
The chief secretary warned the companies that any delay in this matter would be taken seriously by the government. Mohapatra also directed the agriculture and farmer empowerment departments, food supplies & consumer welfare, and the Odisha space application center to develop a plan for crop-specific "area and yield assessment" using space technology.
Development Commission Chairman PK Jena directed officials to select proven technologies and tailor them to the state's agro-climatic zones. He also stated that the satellite imagery would be very useful in data cleansing, evidence-based planning, and expanding crop insurance coverage.
The meeting also agreed that satellite verification of 'crop area and yield' would begin the following year for all croplands.
The eight crops – paddy, groundnut, maize, arhar, ragi, cotton, ginger, and turmeric – would be insured for the Kharif season in 2022, and the nine crops – paddy, groundnut, black-gram, green-gram, mustard, sunflower, sugarcane, potato, and onion – would be insured for the Rabi season.
In general, gram panchayats and urban local bodies are the insurance units for paddy, while blocks are the insurance units for non-paddy crops. According to Special Secretary Agriculture SK Chadha, the deadline for enrolling in Kharif insurance is July 31.
"Crop insurance in the state is done under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana (PMBSY), with funding support from both the state and central government," said Muthu Kumar, Director of Agriculture. Around 98% of the premium amount against each crop is provided on an equal basis by the central and state governments, with the remaining 2% contributed by the concerned farmer."
During the Kharif season of 2021, approximately 12.30 lakh farmers with 10.50 lakh hectares of cropland were enrolled, while enrolment in the Rabi season of 2021-22 was approximately 0.34 lakh farmers with 0.41 hectares of cropland.
