About 16,500 chilli farmers in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, have received the first-ever insurance claim under the Weather-based Crop Insurance Scheme launched by the Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) for chilli farmers. The scheme covered events like deficit rainfall, excess rainfall and uneven distribution of rainfall. It calculates the crop damages with village as a unit as against block, mandal or district in the other agriculture insurance scheme.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah received a cheque for Rs 17.34 crore from M Prasad, chairman and managing director of AIC, in Hyderabad on Tuesday, towards insurance claims for the farmers for the lost crop during the kharif season last year. As the weather-based insurance scheme provided better coverage, Rosaiah said the government had decided to extend the scheme to all the districts from this season. The state has now extended the scheme to cotton, oil palm and sweet lime in several districts.
Addressing a press conference, N Raghuveera Reddy, minister for agriculture, said the farmers in 38 mandals of Guntur were benefited. “This year, we have extended the weather-based cover to cotton farmers in Adilabad, Khammam and Warangal districts, sweet lime in Nalgonda districts, palm oil in West Godavari district and mangoes in Chittoor and Rangareddy district,” he added.
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