Crop insurance
Topic: Major Crops of India: Distribution and Conditions · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 4 "Agriculture"
Meaning
Crop insurance protects farmers when their crops are damaged by drought, flood, cyclone, fire or disease. The farmer pays a small amount, called a premium. If the crop fails, the farmer gets money back for the loss. This matters because most Indian farmers still depend on the monsoon, and one bad season can push them into debt. In India, crop insurance came as part of the land development programme of the 1980s–90s. Today it is mainly given through the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY, 2016).
Example
Suppose a farmer in rainfed Marathwada, Maharashtra, loses a cotton crop to drought. If the crop is insured under PMFBY, the farmer can claim money for the loss.
Don't confuse with
- Minimum support price (MSP): MSP protects farmers against a fall in crop prices. Crop insurance protects them against losing the crop itself.