Andhra farmers to get crop insurance for one rupee

Vijayawada: The YSR Congress government of Andhra Pradesh is offering crop insurance to the state's farmers under which they would have to just one rupee towards the premium. The rest of the premium will be paid by the government.

Chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy released Rs 596.36 crore towards crop insurance claims that had been kept pending by the previous TDP regime. The money was deposited in the bank accounts of 5,94,005 farmers in 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh.

During a video conference interaction with farmers, the chief minister said henceforth farmers would have to pay only one rupee of the premium. The government would pay the rest. The scheme is called the YSR Crop Insurance Scheme.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said the previous TDP government did not pay the insurance premium for rabi 2018-19. Normally, the insurance premium is paid one month before the start of the agriculture season, but for rabi 2018-19, the state government did not pay its share of the premium while the farmers and the Centre did contribute their share.

"To avoid inconvenience to farmers, the state government has decided to pay the premium amount on behalf of farmers and collect a nominal Re 1 from them. Once  e-cropping is done, the premium amount will be paid to the farmers," the chief minister said.

The chief minister reeled out the benefits given to farmers: Rythu Bharosa, setting up of RBKs, e-cropping, crop insurance, crop loans and so on. He explained that quality inputs such as seeds, fertiliser, and pesticides are being distributed through RBKs, and minimum support price (MSP) is being given to farmers.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said district collectors must talk to bankers to ensure that the amount deposited is not adjusted against other loans taken by the farmers.

Source: Deccan Chronicle