How Does the PMFBY Crop Insurance Scheme Benefit Farmers?

Agriculture and its various allied sectors are undoubtedly the largest livelihood provider in our country, particularly in the rural areas. Our agriculture also remains a significant contributor to the Gross Domestic Product. Indian agriculture with its allied activities has already witnessed a white, green, blue, and yellow revolution. Often there are times when farmers face loss/damage to crops due to any natural calamity, heavy rainfall, crop diseases, etc. All of these lead to a financial crunch for the framers. To help the framers in any such crisis, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare in January 2016, rolled out an initiative popularly known as Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.  The PMFBY works on the motto of One Nation, One Crop, One Premium.

What is the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana?

The PMFBY is a government-sponsored crop insurance scheme that helps to integrate various stakeholders on one single platform. This scheme was launched with the key objective to support production agriculture by offering cost-effective crop insurance products. Besides, to ensure comprehensive risk cover for crops against all the non-preventable natural calamities from stages of pre-sowing to post-harvest.

Statistics Say!

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the Indian economy. As per Census 2011, 54.6% of the complete workforce in our country is engaged in agricultural and allied sector activities. It also accounts for 16.5% of the country’s Gross Value Added for 2019-20 (at present prices). The PMFBY scheme is well received by the farming community wherein 27 states and Union Territories opted for it in one more season. In the initial year of the scheme, the coverage was 30% of the Gross Cropped Area. Interestingly, it is also one of the highest coverage in the history of Indian crop insurance. The voluntary participation of the non-loanee farmers has also substantially increased, more than six times, when compared to the earlier scheme. In 2019-20, it has also reached 37% of the complete coverage under the scheme. From Kharif 2020 season, the scheme has been made voluntary for all Indian farmers that also including the loanee farmers.

Benefits of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Scheme

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana secures the interests of all Indian farmers. Now, let us have a look at the listed key PMFBY benefits:

1. The scheme offers comprehensive insurance coverage against crop failure and enables stabilizing the income of the farmers. It also encourages the farmers to adopt innovative practices.
2. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is completely voluntary for all Indian farmers.
3. The maximum premium payable by the farmers will be 2% for all Kharif food and oilseed crops, 5% for annual commercial/ horticultural crops, and 1.5% for the rabi food and oilseed crops.
4. The premium rates paid by the Indian framers are cost-effective and the remaining premium is borne by the government. This is to provide full sum insured to our farmers for any crop loss in case of any natural calamity.
5. There is no higher limit on the government subsidy. So if the remaining premium is let’s just say 90%, it will be government borne.
6. Three levels of indemnity, that is say, 70%, 80%, and 90% corresponding to crop risk in the areas are available for all the crops.
7. The use of technology is highly encouraged. The smartphones, tabs, aerial imagery, remote sensing drones, GPS technology, etc. are used to collect and upload crop harvesting data. This is done to reduce delays in any claim payments.

Calendar of Activity: PMFBY

An activity calendar is prepared while keeping in mind the beginning of the monsoon, crop cycle, sowing period, and so forth. The table below shows the timeline for coverage, submission of yield, etc.

Activity	Kharif	Rabi
Loaning Term (loan sanctioned) for the loanee farmers covered on a compulsory basis	April - July	October – December
The cut-off date for the receipt of proposals of farmers (loanee &non-loanee)	July 31st	December 31st
The cut-off date for receipt of yield data	Within a month from the final harvest	Within a month from the final harvest

Note: For more details, please refer to the PMFBY web portal.

Coverage of Crops: PMFBY

The PMFBY scheme covers all the crops for which the past yield data is available and is grown during the notified season. Below is a general table highlighting the crops along with the season that is covered under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana:

S. No.	Seasons	Types of Crops
1.	Kharif	Food and oilseeds crops like cereals, millets, pulses, etc.
2.	Rabi	Food and oilseeds crops like cereals, millets, pulses, etc.
4.	Kharif and Rabi	Annual Commercial/ Horticultural crops

 

Brief Overview: PMFBY Mobile Application

The crop insurance mobile application is developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Using the PMFBY crop insurance app is easy, handy, and is available in three languages Hindi, English and Marathi. The key highlights of the crop insurance app are:

• User can apply for the crop insurance
• Download the crop insurance policy
• Know the crop insurance premium, PMFBY benefits, loss report status, and so forth

How to Access Crop Insurance Mobile Application?

1. Go to Play Store
2. Type ‘Crop Insurance App’
3. Download and install
4. Start the mobile application

Register as Farmer

1. Click on Register as ‘Farmer’
2. Enter your name and valid mobile number
3. Verify by entering the ‘OTP’
4. Create a password
5. Confirm the password
6. Keep it with you for future reference
7. Click on ‘Register’

Note: For more information, kindly refer to the PMFBY web portal.

The Process to Complete Online Registration on the PMFBY Portal

To avail of the PMFBY benefits, a user needs to self-register themself. Here’s a quick rundown of the steps to online registration on the PMFBY portal.

1. Visit the official website of PMFBY: https://pmfby.gov.in/
2. Click on the ‘Farmer Corner’ icon
3. If the user is a new registration, click on the ‘Guest Farmer’ icon
4. Enter the personal, residential, and other important details.
5. Click on the ‘Create User’ icon
6. After the submission of the registration form, the user can log in to the account and update the profile via the registered mobile number.
7. Once the registration is approved, the user will be notified through an email or SMS

The Bottom Line

Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops, and raising livestock. Agricultural growth has contributed to the rise of civilizations. The PMFBY scheme is a crop insurance service to the farmers for their yields. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is one scheme for all the farming needs.   *Standard T&C apply Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. For more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms, and conditions, please read the sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.