Insurance cover for cash crops

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 22

Himachal farmers cultivating tomato, potato, garlic and capsicum can breathe easy as the commercial crops have been covered under the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (R-WBCIS) for 2019-20.

The crops affected by factors like high-mean temperature and low-mean temperature, deficit or excess unseasonal rainfall, fluctuation in maximum, minimum temperature and disease congenial days, which affects the rabi crop during its cultivation period, will get insurance protection.

Tomato in all blocks of Solan district, Sundernagar and Balh blocks of Mandi, capsicum in Dharampur block of Solan and all blocks of Kullu district, garlic in all blocks of Kullu, Sirmaur and potato in Kangra, Bhawarna, Dharamsala and Nagrota Bhagwan in Kangra district have been covered under the scheme.

The insurance coverage period will be from January to April 30, 2020, for potato, March 1 to July 31, 2020, for tomato, December 15, 2019, to April 30, 2020, for garlic and March 1 to July 31, 2020, for capsicum.

“The sum insured will be Rs 1 lakh per hectare for tomato, Rs 62,500 per hectare for potato, Rs 75,000 per hectare for garlic and Rs 40,000 per hectare for capsicum,” sources in the Agriculture Department said.

The premium has been subsidised under the scheme and maximum insurance premium payable by the farmer for the commercial crops during rabi season will be 5 per cent of the sum insured and the difference between actuarial premium rate and the rate of insurance charges payable by farmers will be shared equally by the Central and state governments.

Insurance companies will be responsible for all payouts arising out of “Adverse Weather Incidence” strictly in terms and conditions of the scheme and payout will arise only in case of adverse weather conditions.

Payouts will normally be made by the insurance companies to nodal banks within 45 days of closing of insurance period, subject to receipt of necessary actual weather data. The payouts will automatically be computed by the insurance companies on the basis of actual weather data received and automatically credited to the bank account.