The Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday approved a proposed five-year farm bill that seeks to make steep cuts to subsidies while expanding government crop-insurance programs.

The proposal met sharp resistance from lawmakers in Southern states, who say it goes too far in peeling back billions of dollars in subsidies that have long propped up farmers. Producers of cotton, rice and peanuts argue a small expansion of crop insurance doesn't provide a strong-enough safety net given the subsidy cuts.

When Dr N H Ravindranath, a senior scientist from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, addressed Himachal Pradesh’s top bureaucrats and policy makers here a couple of years ago, his warnings about the adverse impact of climate change in the hills, especially the farming sectors, had left many stunned. Himachal is witnessing his predictions coming almost true at least for its apple crop — an economy of Rs 2,200 crore, almost 87 per cent of the state’s total fruit production.

The federal government could save about $1 billion a year by reducing the subsidies it pays to large farmers to cover much of the cost of their crop insurance, according to a report by Congressional auditors due to be released on Thursday.

The report raised the prospect of the government’s capping the amount that farmers receive at $40,000 a year, much as the government caps payments in other farm programs. Any move to limit the subsidy, however, is likely to be opposed by rural lawmakers, who say the program provides a safety net for agriculture.

SAMBALPUR: Resentment is brewing among the farmers of Sambalpur district after the State Government excluded it from the drought-hit districts’ list.
Despite the fact that large tracts of agricultural land are under Hirakud Command Area, there is no denying that in the last kharif season untimely rains and pest attacks had hit the farmers badly. Drought had devastated hundreds of others in the non-irrigated belts of the district.

New scheme to include crop and price protection will encourage farmers to buy insurance products

The government proposes to roll out an integrated farmer security plan by reworking insurance schemes and consolidating all other risk management schemes to benefit farmers at large.

GUWAHATI: Farmers across India have been making claims for crop losses under the central government’s National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS).

However, the farmers in the northeastern states, mainly in Assam, are not even aware any such scheme exists, said an expert.
K.M. Buzarbaruah, vice chancellor of the Jorhat-based Assam Agricultural University, told IANS no claims at all have been made by the farmers of Assam and other northeastern states last year for their crop losses.

New Delhi Close to five crore farmers have availed of the benefits under the national crop insurance scheme, which aims at protecting farming communities against crop failures due to vagaries of weather, pest attacks and diseases.

According to the latest data released on Wednesday by ministry of agriculture, crop insurance claims worth of R22, 135 crore have been settled till now for 4.86 crore farmers mostly from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karntaka.

Post-harvest loan to be offered at 7% for using warehouses
The finance ministry has launched a concessional loan scheme for farmers to prevent distress sale of agricultural produce.
Farmers who park their produce at warehouses will be able to avail short-term post harvest loan at 7% as against the prevailing rate of 11%-12%. Farmers making timely payment of the loans will further enjoy 3% interest subvention, bringing the real interest rate to 4%, according to the finance ministry directive.

Almost four years have passed since the government introduced the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) in the state to assist the farmers suffering losses due to natural calamities like rains, floods and droughts. However, there is just one man handling the implementation work in the entire Jammu region with 10 districts.

It is raining sops in Andhra Pradesh. The Congress government has unveiled yet another populist scheme envisaging interest-free crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh for farmers across the state.

The new “zero interest” scheme, to be implemented from this agriculture scheme, will benefit 95 lakh farmers and cost the state exchequer around Rs.650-700 crore annually, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said.

However, only those farmers, who make prompt repayment of the loan amount, will be eligible for the facility. The government would reimburse the interest amount to the banks.