₹1,000 cr. sanctioned to cover farmers’ losses during Samba season last year

Nagapattinam tops the list, with claims worth ₹301 crore having been approved

Despite Tamil Nadu not experiencing drought during 2017-18, over ₹1,000 crore was sanctioned to farmers who suffered losses during the Samba cultivation season last year.

According to a senior official of the State Agriculture Department, Nagapattinam topped the list of districts, with claims to the tune of ₹301 crore having been approved, followed by Pudukottai (₹202 crore) and Thanjavur (₹112 crore).

Another official explains that under the existing Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme, farmers don’t have to submit claims, as is required in respect of other categories of insurance schemes. The data from the State Department of Economics and Statistics on crop loss, satellite imagery and field data collected by the insurance companies are examined before compensating farmers. The work of the insurance companies is monitored by Agriculture Department officials of both the State and the Central governments.

Officials of the State Agriculture Department are confident of obtaining sanction for at least a few more hundreds of crores of rupees. They point out that the companies will, subsequently, take up claims for pulses also.

Enrolment figures

Meanwhile, around 16.4 lakh farmers have been enrolled in the insurance scheme, covering about 26 lakh acres. A complete picture on enrolment would emerge only in the first week of January, as the Central government has given time till December 31 for uploading data on insured agriculturists in five districts hit by Cyclone Gaja.

During 2017-18, a little less than 14 lakh farmers were covered for an area of 26.54 lakh acres.

As was the case with previous years, this year too, a majority of the insured farmers are non-loanee agriculturists. Around three-fourths of the farmers fall under the non-loanee category. In the delta districts, out of 7.2 lakh insured farmers, 4.9 lakh are non-loanee agriculturists.

Farmers who take crop loans will automatically be covered under the insurance scheme. It is only in respect of non-loanee farmers that steps have to be taken to rope them in, an official said.