Lucknow, Nov 29, : .The Yogi Adityanath government has launched a state-wide drive starting December 1 to mobilize the farming community.
It aims to bring maximum farmers under the Central crop insurance scheme — Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana. The flagship scheme provides financial support and coverage for farmers in the event that their crops fail due to natural calamities or pests and diseases.
This move comes just as Parliament begins its winter session on Monday.The Centre is expected to move a Bill to repeal three farm laws.
The Uttar Pradesh government will coordinate with the ministry of agriculture, farmers welfare and financial institutions to carry out the week-long drive.This includes commercial banks and rural banks.
This is yet another attempt by the ruling BJP, to calm the farmers’ feelings.Farmers have threatened to keep the fire burning until their demands for legal guarantees for MSP and the sacking junior Home Minister Ajay Mala Teni (whose son Ashish is a suspect in Lakhimpur violence) are met.
According to records from the agriculture department, Uttar Pradesh had a total cultivable land of more than 35.5 million hectares in 2019-20.There were 47lakh farmers covered under PMFBY, according to records.
This translated into a Rs 16,743 crore insured amount.Records show that Uttar Pradesh was far behind Maharashtra (where 1.45 crore farmers are insured) and Rajasthan (where 85 lakh farmers are insured).
Surprisingly, Uttar Pradesh was only 7% of the 6.12 crore farmers who were insured under the scheme.
The state agriculture department decided to conduct the campaign in 75 development blocks across 75 districts where there are fewer insured farmers.
Devesh Chaturvedi, additional chief secretary (agriculture), wrote to district magistrates that he felt it was important to place emphasis on districts with aspirational populations and districts with substantial numbers of Scheduled Tribes.
The proposed areas where the scheme will be implemented rigorously include Sewapuri, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency of Varanasi and Campierganj blocks in chief minister Yogi Aitynath’s political backyard of Gorakhpur as well as Pathardeva assembly seat for UP agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi.
Shahi from Lucknow will flaggeagle special vehicles to raise awareness in different areas about the scheme on December 1.
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