The issue of crop insurance in Andhra

The Andhra Pradesh government is taking pride that it has been proactive in ensuring loans and crop insurance cover for farmers but the situation on the ground is far from reassuring.

NDTV's Uma Sudhir reports that farmers let down by the rains have nothing to fall back on.

The agricultural loss due to drought may be much more than being anticipated. The state government has said sowing has happened in less than 50 per cent of the net area. But NDTV finds that the crops have either dried up or are drying up.

Raja Reddy explains that the maize crop by this time should have been much taller than us. It should have flowered and corns should have made an appearance. But it's all over. The rains now are no help at all.

In the adjacent field is tomato, Mahender tells us by this time, the tomato harvest should have been flooding the market, but there was no water, and hence no tomatoes.

Crop insurance has been spoken about for years now. But nothing has happened on the ground. In this horticultural field, the farmer has grown chillies but it has dried up and the farmer has lost the investment of Rs one lakh on the crop in the form of fertilisers and pesticides and the crop itself.

Villagers say the only crop covered under insurance in this area is maize. But even on that no one has so far got any compensation.

"Even last year we paid insurance premium. But we got no compensation. We were asked to pay again this year," said Raja Reddy.

The government claims that the crop insurance scheme in the state with village as a unit has been far more a success than anywhere else.

"Just in Anantpur district, last year we paid Rs 600 crore under crop insurance. It's so impressive that others are finding it difficult to believe," said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

Experience has inspired cynicism not confidence.

Tags: Drought, Farmers

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