Farmers Movement Archive

Special drive to bring more farmers under PM crop cover scheme

Lucknow: Initiating a major farmer outreach, the BJP government in UP is set to roll out a special drive to enroll farmers under the PM’s crop insurance scheme, provisioning financial cover to crops that sustain damage due to adverse weather. The seven-day drive, starting July 1, will focus on 75 development blocks in the state – many of them being Dalit-dominated – where enrollment of farmers under the crop insurance scheme is low. The move comes amid prolonged agitation by farmers against the new farm laws, which is attaining political overtones to threaten BJP’s electoral prospects in states, including UP, where assembly elections are due next year. The Centre has identified eight blocks in different aspirational districts – Bahraich (Rakabganj), Shravasti (Sirsiya), Balrampur (Utraula), Siddharthnagar (Lotan), Fatehpur (Hathgaon), Chitrakoot (Ramnagar), Sonbhadra (Bagni) and Chandauli (Niyamtabad) – where crop insurance enrolment is low. Besides these, the state government has identified Varanasi (Sevapuri), Gorakhpur (Campierganj) and Deoria (Patherdeva) where the number of farmers covered under the scheme is inadequate. Additional chief secretary (agriculture), Devesh Chaturvedi, said special vans would be sent to rural precincts to get farmers covered under the scheme at their doorsteps. Talking to TOI, the ACS (agriculture) said a number of insurance companies had come forward for the campaign. The drive, scheduled to be flagged off by UP agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi on July 1, also coincides with the government’s ‘Bharat Ka Amrut Mahotsav’ campaign which is being organised to mark the 75th Independence Day next year. The Centre has decided to dedicate January 13, 2022, to the PM’s crop insurance scheme. “The first week of July and December will be dedicated to Kharif and Rabi crops, respectively. Under the campaign, not only insurance companies but also banks and Jan Suvidha Kendra (JSK) will be engaged to ramp up the participation of farmers in crop insurance schemes,” Chaturvedi said. In a communique to all district magistrates, the ACS (agriculture) has also pitched for the use of social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, to project the benefits of the schemes. He added that the message of the scheme should also be telecast through audio-visual means and regional TV channels. The agriculture department has asked district officials to decide the route of campaign vans in such a manner that maximum blocks and nyaya panchayats get covered. Officials have also been directed to camp in villages and hold meetings to assess the progress of the campaign.

The Times of India

2021-06-30

Lucknow