In Maharashtra 10 districts don’t get rabi crop cover

Mumbai: Farmers in some of the state’s most vulnerable drought-prone districts still do not have the protection of insurance for the winter crop or rabi season which ends in February. This is because insurance companies have not bid for these “high risk” districts even though tenders were floated eight times. Insurance companies say unseasonal rains led to massive claims in the kharif season and made them reluctant to bid for rabi season.

The districts without rabi cover include Beed and Latur in Marathwada and Solapur in Western Maharashtra which are drought-prone. Others are Hingoli in Marathwada, Washim, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli in Vidarbha, and Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in Konkan.

The government had begun floating tenders in September last year for 32 districts under Prime Minister’s Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Despite tenders being issued eight times, there were no takers for 10 districts. “Initially, these 10 districts were divided into two clusters. Then, we made four clusters in the hope of making it more viable for insurance companies. But there were still no bids until the last date of December 30, 2019,” said a senior official, adding the government hopes to re-issue the tender. The other 22 districts have insurance cover.

Rabi or winter crop in the state covers an average of 53 lakh hectares, a third the size of kharif crop. In 2018-19, 48.6 lakh farmers had applied for rabi cover. Rabi crops include wheat, jowar, maize, harbhara and oilseeds. Through 2019, insurance companies have been reluctant to come forward for crop insurance, say officials. For kharif season, the state had to persuade both public and private insurance companies to participate. Private companies stayed away from rabi fruits cover; it was taken up by public sector Agricultural Insurance Company. For rabi season, insurance companies bid after much persuasion but not for these 10 districts.

At least three private insurance firms opted out of PMFBY nationally last year after facing huge claims in 2018-19. Those that took part in the kharif season in 2019 said they did not want to bid in the rabi season after unseasonal rains in the state destroyed almost 70% of the kharif harvest, leading to massive claims from farmers.

“As it is, we face a major payout for kharif season. Since the risk assessment for these 10 districts is high, both insurance firms and reinsurance companies with whom we share the liability were reluctant to get involved,” said an executive from a private insurance firm. “It’s best if the state has its own crop insurance company,” said Parbhani-based Rajan Kshirsagar, a CPI activist who tracks crop insurance.

He alleged insurance companies made huge profits during good years but wanted to avoid seasons where they would face payouts. “Companies made profits through hefty premiums paid by the government. Now, they are choosing their zones carefully to avoid losses. This means farmers in the most vulnerable districts are being deprived of a cover,” he said .

Source: The Times of India

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