52 lakh ha covered under PMFBY in Maharashtra

Maharashtra Agriculture Department officials said that over 39 lakh farmers have submitted 99 lakh application forms to avail benefits of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) covering 52 lakh hectares in the State.

The sum insured under PMFBY for the kharif in Maharashtra is ₹19,873.8 crore, according to the PMFBY dashboard.

“The number of applications would cross 1 crore. Banks are still in the process to upload the data. Once all data is uploaded we will have the final figure” said a senior officer at State Agriculture Commissioner’s office told BusinessLine.

He added that farmers have responded to the scheme as the majority of them have received insurance for the crop destroyed during last year’s unseasonal rains.

Maharashtra has average 141.99 lakh hectares under kharif sowing (except sugarcane) and by July 20, sowing over 124.20 lakh hectares (87.47 per cent) has been completed. About 100.57 (71 per cent) lakh hectare was under kharif sowing (except sugarcane) last year this time. The land under kharif including sugarcane is 151.34 lakh hectares, of which sowing has been completed on 125.17 lakh hectare (83 per cent). Last year, sowing under this category was 67 per cent.

Source: The Hindu Business Line