Farmers must wait a little longer to claim insurance for their crops and livestock. The government had planned to roll out the insurance scheme this July. But there is no money. And the scheme needs further discussion. The agriculture ministry plans to start the scheme on November 11. If not, the pause will continue until next year.
Around 60 per cent of the population depends on agriculture. With farmers across the country reporting human-wildlife conflicts and effects of climate change, this insurance scheme has become very important.
The government allocated Nu 1.5bn in this five-year plan.
The National Crop and Livestock Insurance Scheme aims to provide farmers with financial security against losses caused by natural disasters and wildlife predation.
In the assembly, the agriculture minister said there is a plan to request India for Nu 800 M. And the government still needs to look for the remaining amount, for which the effort continues. Under the scheme, the government will pay 50 per cent of the premium.
Premium rates have been set at six per cent for poultry and piggery, ten per cent for cattle, and 5.8 per cent for crops.
“If a Jersey cow costs Nu 100,000, the insurance premium would be Nu 10,000 at ten per cent. Since the premium is shared equally, both the government and the farmer would pay Nu 5,000 each,” said Younten Phuntsho, Agriculture and Livestock Minister.
The Nyisho-Sephu MP raised concerns about the difficulties farmers face while claiming insurance.
“While insuring is easy, problems arise when farmers try to claim the insurance. The process becomes complicated, and the amount also decreases. This is an issue with all insurance schemes,” said Kuenga, MP, Nyisho-Sephu, Wangdue Phodrang, National Assembly.
The ministry is working to address these challenges.
As per the scheme, the insurance can be claimed for seven commodities, which are maize, potato, rice, orange, poultry, piggery and cattle. Parliamentarians suggested including more items in the list.
“As we are just starting the scheme, we will assess the feasibility before including all crops and livestock. If the scheme is successful, we see possibilities for this to happen,” said Younten Phuntsho, Agriculture and Livestock Minister.
The need looks urgent since the problems will not wait for the scheme to be implemented.
Deki Lhazom
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
