Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme in India

Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) or Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) is purporting to provide insurance security to the farmers against hostile weather conditions which can affect the crop production.

What is the Objective of WBCIS?

The objective of the Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) is to lower the problems farmers face as a result of adverse weather conditions. This scheme supports farmers against the possibility of financial loss due to crop loss resulting from adverse weather conditions such as excess or low rainfall, temperature conditions, humidity, etc.

This insurance scheme uses weather parameters as a representative for crop yields in compensating the farmers for deemed crop losses. In adverse weather incidence, all the insured cultivators growing the notified crop in the reference unit area will be deemed to have suffered the same level of adverse weather incidence and the same proportion of crop loss, and become eligible for the same rate of Pay-outs.

Which Crops are covered under WBCIS?

Major food crops i.e. Cereals, Millets, Pulses, and, Oilseeds, Annual Commercial/Horticultural crops. The main crops can be Wheat, Gram, Barley, Mustard, Lentil, Onion, Potato, Cumin, Coriander, Fenugreek, Isabgol, etc. For each reference unit area, crops covered are notified by the State Level Coordination Committee on Crop Insurance (SLCCCI), and those crops are referred to as “Notified crops”. And here written crops are only indicative and not exhaustive; any other crops can be added to this list or maybe deleted from this list considered by Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited (AIC).

Which Farmers are Covered and Coverage Procedure?

All the farmers including tenant farmers and sharecroppers who are growing any notified crop in reference unit area are eligible.

• All the Loanee farmers are covered on a compulsory basis. And insurance coverage will be through the existing network of Financial Institutions (FI) at the grass-root level, using the Nodal bank system.
• For Non-loanee farmers, this scheme is optional. It will be through the existing network of FIs at the grass-root level; the Insurance intermediaries and Authorized Representatives of AIC.

Which Weather Perils are covered?

Unseasonal/excess rains, deficient rains, frost or fog, heat (increased temperature), Relative humidity, etc. are weather perils that are covered in WBCIS which can lead to crop loss. The specific “Adverse Weather Incidence”, with its time duration applicable to a particular notified crop in particular area shall be notified by the SLCCCI.

Listed perils are only suggestive and not extensive, addition or deletion may be considered by AIC, depending on relevant data available.

The risk period or Insurance period would be from the sowing of the crop to the maturity of crop. It can be different for different crops and areas and is notified by SLCCCI before the commencement of the risk period.

What are the Sum Insured & Premium rates?

The Sum Insured (SI) for every notified crop is pre-defined and is the same for both loanee and non-loanee farmers. It is in accordance with the “Scale of Finance” that is decided by the District Level Technical Committee (DLTC).

If the DLTC does not declare the scale of finance, then the SI is based on the cost of cultivation of crop and is decided by the State Government. It is equal to the product of the area under cultivation (in hectare) and sum insured per hectare mentioned in the notification.

Premium Rates-

References

http://agricoop.nic.in/sites/default/files/AGRICULTUR%20INSURANCE-Credits.pdf

http://www.diragrijmu.nic.in/Deptt_Circulars_Orders/WBCIS.pdf