Page 35 - Insurance Times September 2021

excluded from modern market
arrangements, like contract farming
or direct purchase. In this context,
it is important to examine the role
and scope of impact of recent farm
produce trade (APMC bypass) Act
and the farmer empowerment or
Contract Farming Act on
smallholder livelihoods. . Though
Tamil Nadu was late in joining the
PMFBY, the State has emerged as
one of the major beneficiaries of the
programme, with its farmers having
been sanctioned around Rs. 7,000 crore cumulatively in the
The Ground Reality: last two-and-a-half years.
Indian agriculture has for long suffered from apathy and
policies rigged to benefit others at the cost of the farmer.
Under successive Congress governments, ringing tributes
were ritualistically paid to the industry of "kisan", but the
loudly declared intent to help farmers never translated into
ground reality. Committees were formed with the avowed
objective of developing agriculture and improving farmers'
lot, only to consign the recommendations of experts
commissioned for the job to the growing pile of files never
acted upon.

It is known that 85% of India's farmers operate less than or
just five acres of land, half of which in many parts of India
may be dry/rainfed. Small farmers contribute 51% of
agricultural output with 46% of operated land, and a much
higher share (70%) in high-value crops, such as vegetables
and milk.
Farmer's Suicide:

However, small farmers are less literate and are from more India has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. In
marginalized castes and communities, and are generally 2019, a total of 10,281 farmers and farm laborers died by
suicide across the country, according to statistics from the
National Crime Records Bureau. Taking one's own life is still
a crime in India, and experts have said for years that the
actual numbers are far higher because most people fear the
stigma of reporting. Farmers, struggling to save their crops,
dug their bore wells even deeper. And to fend off increasing
pest attacks, they load their fields with chemicals. The
skyrocketing agricultural costs forced many farmers to take
on more debt, and crop failures over the years eventually
destroyed generations of rural families.

Over the years the premiums against sum assured, as quoted
by insurers, have been steadily rising, reflecting the firms'
concerns over the shirking margins. The latest trend may
be indicating the cementing of the scheme, largely

The Insurance Times, September 2021 35