Insure maize, paddy crops till July 15: DC

A meeting of the district-level Monitoring Committee under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was held on Monday under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Repaswal at Chamba.

During the meeting, the DC said under the kharif season 2025, insurance coverage for maize and paddy crops would be available till July 15 and urged farmers to ensure timely enrollment to avail the benefits of the scheme.

Stressing the need to include more farmers under the PMFBY, Repaswal directed insurance company representatives to use success stories of beneficiary farmers to promote the scheme effectively through social media platforms.

Reviewing the action plan prepared by the Agriculture Department for kharif season, he instructed local representatives of insurance companies and bank officials in the district to jointly organise awareness camps to educate the farming community.

Taking note of certain banks not deducting premiums from Kisan Credit Card (KCC) holders for the Rabi-Kharif 2024 season, the DC directed local management of Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India and Punjab & Sindh Bank to provide an explanation.

Repaswal also asked Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank and the State Cooperative Bank to prepare a list of KCC-holding farmers who have not yet availed benefits under the PMFBY.

Deputy Director of Agriculture Dr Bhupender Kumar said that during the rabi season 2024-25, crop insurance coverage was provided to 6,803 farmers for 1,350 hectares of wheat and barley. He added that nearly Rs 12.14 lakh is currently being processed as compensation.

Meanwhile, farmers in Sirmaur district have also been urged to insure their maize and paddy crops under the PMFBY before the deadline of July 15. Deputy Director of Agriculture Rajkumar said the Central scheme provided financial protection to farmers against potential crop loss caused by natural calamities.

Under the scheme, the sum insured for both maize and paddy has been fixed at Rs 60,000 per hectare.

Himachal Tribune