VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Jagan Reddy held discussions with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday on implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in the state. The discussions were via video conference from Tadepalli.
The chief minister discussed the modalities of integrating the ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’ with the YSR Free Crop Insurance Scheme.
Jagan suggested changes be carried out for the Fasal Bima Yojana in ways as to benefit all farmers. All the agricultural activities in the state were brought under the ambit of the 10,444 Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs), wherein every crop grown by farmers is being e-cropped with geo-tagging and gets updated on a real-time basis.
The CM said the state government cleared all the hurdles in the way of bringing all crops under insurance coverage through e-cropping. The AP government is paying both the premiums that are to be paid by farmers and the state.
Jagan said a free crop insurance scheme will go a long way in realising the goals of e-cropping if the central and state governments bore equal share of the premium of small and marginal farmers. He urged the Union minister to consider the proposal.
The CM thanked Thomar for including Andhra Pradesh in the Fasal Bima Yojana and making changes to its basic guidelines.
The central minister hailed the chief minister for protecting the interests of farmers through revolutionary reforms in the agriculture sector and thanked him for the state’s re-participation in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. He said necessary changes have been made in the Crop Insurance Scheme as per the suggestions of various state governments.
This will be jointly implemented by the state and central governments, and it would act as a protective shield for the farmers, he said.
Acknowledging the innovative programmes of the state government, like e-cropping, Tomar said a meeting will be held with agriculture ministers of states to discuss the innovative schemes that would motivate them too. He said Andhra Pradesh’s role is inspiring in Natural Farming and in the Agri Infra Fund that benefits farmers.
Agriculture minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy, chief secretary Sameer Sharma, special CS Poonam Malakondaiah and other officials participated in the programme.
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