The Haryana government approved the implementation of the Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima Yojana (MBBY), an assurance-based scheme to compensate crop losses due to adverse weather and natural calamities for farmers growing horticulture crops.

Horticulture growers face huge financial losses due to various factors, including biotic ones that include losses due to sudden outbreak of crop diseases, insect and pests infestation and abiotic factors like untimely rainfall, hailstorms, drought, frost and extreme temperatures.

The Department of Horticulture has examined various crop insurance schemes covering horticultural crops and felt the need that a new scheme was required to cover crop loss due to natural calamities and adverse weather conditions.

This scheme has been named as MBBY with the aim to encouraging farmers to cultivate high-risk horticulture crops.

A total of 21 vegetable, fruit and spice crops will be covered under the scheme.

Under this scheme, farmers need to give only 2.5 per cent, that is Rs 750 for vegetable and spice crop and Rs 1000 for fruit crops against a sum assured of Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000, respectively. The claim compensation will be based on survey and extent of loss in four categories of 25, 50, 75 and 100 per cent. The scheme will be optional. A seed capital of Rs 10 crore will be kept by the state government for the scheme.

By: Atul Dhimann