PMFBY should cover crop damage by wild animals

India largely depends on agriculture for its economy and yet it is one of the most neglected spheres of our society. The crop insurance schemes introduced by the previous UPA government have not largely been successful in solving their issues because of extremely large premium rates.

Since this premium itself was not affordable for them, farmers could not be expected to make timely payments for the sake of crop security. Recently, the Central government approved the launch of “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana” (PMFBY) to help the farmers get insurance in case of crop loss.

New scheme proposes to provide comprehensive risk insurance to cover yield losses from non-preventable risks such as natural fire and lightning, storm, hailstorm, cyclone, typhoon, tempest, hurricane, tornado, floods, inundation and landslide, drought and dry spells, and pests and diseases etc.

But PMFBY has excluded crop losses caused by wildlife from the ambit of insurance scheme. Apart from, crops grazed or destroyed by domestic and/or wild animals’ losses accruing from perils such as war and kindred perils, nuclear risks, riots, malicious damage, theft and act of enmity, are all categorized under “exclusions” in the new scheme.

Farmer groups have been demanding that PMFBY cover these risks and crop losses inflicted by wild animals such as elephants and wild boars, even monkeys, among others. Growers of cereals like paddy, horticulture crops such as banana and vegetables and cash crops like sugarcane, apart from plantation crops mainly coffee are among the worst affected by straying wild animals.

According to the National Institute of Disaster Management, Himachal Pradesh loses farm produce worth Rs 500 crore annually due to wild animals including monkeys. The crop loss figure is higher than what the State spends on agriculture every year. The state’s budgetary allocation for agriculture for 2015-16 was Rs 450 crore.

In Karnataka, farmers lose crops worth Rs 5 crore every year because of monkeys menace, according to state’s agriculture department data. Even in Telangana State also, crops are damaged by monkeys but there is no official estimate available to insure these farmers.

Crop damages inflicted by wild animals is one of the biggest challenges faced by the farmers right from Uttarakhand to Kerala and they are demanding that the Centre cover such risks and crop losses in the new crop insurance scheme.

In this direction, to insure farmers against crop and property damage caused by wild animals such as elephant raids, monkey raids and other animals, the Union environment and forest ministry has moved a formal proposal to cover these damages under PMFBY to agriculture ministry.

The note has conveyed to the agriculture ministry that there is a rise in human-wildlife conflict due to large changes in land-use patterns, destruction and fragmentation of forests. It says that the extent of crop damage in monetary terms ranges from Rs 200-400 crore in entire country.

But , the PMFBY is set to be rolled in current kharif season and the officials have expressed doubt that almost the bidding process for insurance companies has been done and at this stage to cover the damages caused by wild animals in insurance scheme may not possible since it required to change the guidelines and have to be approved by the Union Cabinet. Till the new guidelines are issued under PMFBY, farmers have to bear the crop losses by animals.

By Gudipati Rajendera Kumar