Environmental problems in front of the world are increasing due to global warming and climate change. Unstoppable population shift towards urban and metro cities is contributing to industrialisation and modern civilisation. By 2050, about half of the population is estimated to be in urban and metro cities. In terms of the environment, urbanisation has only degraded the ecosystem by adding pollution, deforestation, waste and landfill.
Agriculture is the most affected sector due to climate change. Though agriculture is risky, the probability of risks has increased with climate change. Youth is quitting agriculture and leaving to urban locations for better earning opportunities. Prominent farmers in India are smallholders. These farmers are unable to make enough for livelihood and satisfy the basic needs of their families. To ensure these farmers fixed income and encourage them to continue farming, the government of India has launched several agriculture insurance schemes.
The prime motto behind the agriculture insurance scheme is to make sure farmers have enough funds to invest in the following seasons and fulfil the fundamental needs of their families. In case of natural calamities, crops may get partially or entirely damaged or destroyed. Apart from gaining stable income, agriculture insurance schemes are essential to minimise debt, leverage new agriculture practices and support advanced agriculture technologies.
Agriculture insurance schemes in India are Weather-based crop insurance scheme, and pradhan mantri fasal bima yojana (prime minister agriculture insurance), pilot unified package insurance scheme and coconut palm insurance scheme. Additionally, the government of India is running multiple peril crop insurance, crop-hail insurance, yield-based and revenue-based crop insurance schemes. All these schemes aim to provide financial security to Indian farmers if any mishap occurs and they lose yield in their fields.
Prime minister agriculture insurance scheme is the most beneficial insurance scheme in favour of farmers. It not only covers standing crop losses but covers losses pre-sowing and post-harvest in case of failures due to unseasonal rainfall, cyclonic rain, hailstorm or landslides. The objective of the prime minister agriculture insurance scheme is to provide financial support to farmers and stabilise their income. It aims to encourage farmers in adopting modern agriculture practices while ensuring the flow of credit in the agriculture sector.
The agriculture insurance schemes play a vital role in motivating farmers to continue their agricultural practices and experiment and get benefited from modern agriculture methods and techniques. Farmers are willing to adopt advanced technologies due to fixed income assurance that will soon change the Indian agriculture scenario.