New Delhi: Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar participated in a special ‘Fasal Bima Pathshala’ drive under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) on Wednesday. According to an official release, the programme was attended by more than 1 crore farmers from various locations across the country as part of the ongoing “Kisan Bhagidari Prathmikta Hamari Campaign” under Azadi Ki Amrit Mahotsav.
Addressing farmers, Tomar said a large number of farmers are connected with this PMFBY. He added that under the Fasal Bima Yojana from Kharif 2016 till Kharif 2021, every year about 5.5 crore farmers applied for crop insurance and till now around Rs 21,000 crore premium has been collected and farmers have got more than 1.15 lakh crore payment as insurance claim.
He emphasized that the Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana can play a very important role in providing financial security to the farmers of the country against the crop losses arising due to various natural calamities. He urged farmers and states to come under the ambit of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Those who have benefitted can convince others to come under the protective shield of the PMFBY.
Emphasizing that the government was "committed to increasing the income of farmers", the Minister outlined various schemes of the central government for the benefit of farmers attending the programme and urged them to register under PM-Kisan and take advantage of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) which will free them from the clutches of money lenders.
The Minister also urged the farmers to join Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and join the e-NAM for marketing their produce. The Minister also explained how infrastructure developed at the farm gate with the help of the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) can benefit small farmers. He motivated farmers to take up integrated farming and include fisheries and dairying to augment their income.
Tomar said that farmers who have benefitted from government schemes should become “Ambassador” farmers and help other farmers to gain and thereby strengthen Indian Agriculture. Along with the Union Agriculture Minister, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Kailash Choudhary and Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje interacted with the farmers of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam and Himachal Pradesh virtually.
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