NEW DELHI, 28 April 2022: As a part of the ongoing “Kisan Bhagidari Prathmikta Hamari Campaign” under Azadi Ki Amrit Mahotsav, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare participated in a special ‘Fasal Bima Pathshala’ drive under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) recently. The special programme was attended by more than 1 crore farmers from various locations across the country.
Addressing farmers across the country on the Fasal Bima Pathshala Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that farmers have benefitted from the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and a large number of farmers are connected with this scheme. He informed that under the Fasal Bima Yojana from Kharif 2016 till Kharif 2021 every year about 5.5 crore farmers applied for crop insurance and till now around INR 21000 crore premium has been collected and farmers have got more than 1.15 lakh crore payment as insurance claim.
He emphasized that the Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana can play a very important role in providing financial security to the farmers of the country against the crop losses arising due to various natural calamities. He urged farmers and states to come under the ambit of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Those who have benefitted can convince others to come under the protective shield of the PMFBY.
Emphasing that Central Government is committed to increasing the income of farmers, the Minister outlined various schemes of the central government for the benefit of farmers attending the Pathshala and urged them to register under PM-Kisan and take advantage of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) which will free them from the clutches of money lenders. The Minister also urged the farmers to join Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and join the e-NAM for marketing of their produce.
The Minister also explained how infrastructure developed at the farm gate with the help of Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) can benefit small farmers. He motivated farmers to take up integrated farming and include fisheries and dairying to augment their income.
Tomar said that farmers who have benefitted from government schemes should become “Ambassador” farmers and help other farmers to gain and thereby strengthen Indian Agriculture.
Along with the Union Agriculture Minister, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Kailash Choudhary and Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Sushree Shobha Karandlaje interacted with the farmers of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam and Himachal Pradesh virtually.
Followed by the central event, the Agriculture Ministers of various States interacted with the farmers of their respective States and addressed the farmers on importance of Crop Insurance and Fasal Bima Pathshala.
The special programme, which will be extended for a week by PMFBY implementing insurance companies, will focus on educating farmers on importance of PMFBY/ Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) in participation with State Agriculture Departments, Banks, CSC and Krishi Vigyan Kendra.
