Bank loans likely to come to farmers' rescue
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 27 2018: Even as vast tracts of paddy fields have failed to bear paddy this season, farmers who took loans from banks may not face any severe difficulty.

Nonetheless, there is an acute necessity to create extensive awareness on crop insurance schemes among the farmers of the State.

It is reported that very few farmers of the State are knowledgeable enough to take full benefits of the Crop Insurance Scheme being implemented by the Central Government in collaboration with the State Government.

Under the Crop Insurance Scheme, a farmer can get monetary relief of Rs 68,000 per hectare for this Kharif season, informed a source.

Notably, an investment of Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 is needed to cultivate paddy over an area of one hectare which means the monetary relief of Rs 68,000 per hectare given under the Crop Insurance covers the entire cost of paddy cultivation.

Benefits of the Crop Insurance Scheme are given to farmers through insurance companies selected by the Government of India.

For the current Kharif season, farmers of the State should pay one-time premium of Rs 1370 per hectare but the scheme covers only paddy at the moment, said the source.

The total premium each farmer should pay is Rs 2713.20.While each farmer must pay Rs 1370, the remaining amount of Rs 1343.20 is paid by the Government of India and the State Government at the ratio of 50:50.A large number of farmers of the State have landed in a miserable situation as vast tracts of paddy fields have failed to bear paddy.

Even as the State Agriculture Department has been working to ameliorate the farmers' woes, the department is facing certain difficulties as the situation cannot be termed drought, said the source.

Out of the total 7244 hectares where paddy cultivations have failed, some areas would be provided irrigation facility and Rabi crop seeds would be distributed to farmers on priority basis, informed the source.

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