Naidu assures crop insurance

​Anantapur: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu promised the farmers to pay crop insurance in proportionate to the yield. He asked agriculture officers and insurance companies to make an assessment of crop yields in the farm lands and pay insurance amount.

Addressing a meeting of bankers, insurance companies and agriculture officers at R&B Guest House, here on Thursday, Naidu said he would talk to the Centre on extending insurance cover to groundnut farmers, in the context of Centre exempting groundnut crop from Fasal Bima scheme.

The Chief Minister asked bankers to give loans and insurance payment only those cultivating the fields. “All government benefits should go to the real farmer, who is cultivating the lands,” he averred.

Naidu assured farmers of supplying quality seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, apart from making soil tests to take scientific decisions based on the soil health and suitability of their soil to crops. He regretted that farmers were suffering due to failing monsoons.

“We sanctioned digging of 1 lakh farm ponds in the district and out of which 60,000 have been completed. One farm pond should be dug for every 5 acres of crop land. Rain guns would be supplied to farmers who ask for it if water sources were available within the vicinity of their lands.

Water will be supplied in places which have some form of water resources through water tankers, fire engines, soak pits, farm ponds or village tanks,” the Chief Minister stated.