Paddy to be raised as samba or thaladi during the current rabi season in Tiruvarur district have been notified as eligible for coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY-crop insurance scheme).
The crop identified as Paddy-II under PMFBY can be insured by district farmers by remitting ₹488.25 per acre as insurance premium with the Agriculture Insurance Company of India on or before November 15, according to Collector P.Gayathri Krishnan.
In a press release, the Collector said Paddy-II crop raised in all villages in the district would be covered under the scheme.
Farmers could insure their crop by remitting the premium while at the time of availing the crop loan through Primary Agriculture Cooperative Banks (PACBs) or nationalised banks. If they did not want to avail loan, they could submit necessary documents along with the premium at the banks or by uploading them along with online payment through common service centres.
Stating that it was left to the farmers to get their crop insured under PMFBY, she said the insurance compensation, if any, would be calculated based on the average of the district-wise crop-wise harvest data.
Meanwhile, inquiries revealed that the samba crop had been raised in about 62,000 hectares in the district, while agriculture officials expected the samba and ‘thaladi coverage in about 1.48 lakh hectares during the season.
However, the total area of samba crop was likely to drop below one lakh hectare mark this year since kuruvai crop that had been raised in about 54,000 hectares had reached the harvesting stage. Further, the direct sowing method was adopted in much of the 62,000 hectares where samba crop was raised, official sources said.
