Chandigarh, September 22: While once again reiterating Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal’s commitment towards safeguarding farmers interest, Haryana Government has decided to cover farmers growing horticultural crops against abiotic factors under an especially designed scheme.

A decision to this regard was taken in a meeting of the Council of Ministers held under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal held here today.

The Cabinet has accorded its approval for the implementation of Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima Yojana (MBBY) - an assurance-based scheme to compensate crop losses due to adverse weather and natural calamities for farmers growing horticulture crops.

Horticulture growers face huge financial losses due to various factors, biotic factors that include losses due to sudden outbreak of crop diseases, insect-pests infestation, and abiotic factors like untimely rainfall, hailstorms, drought, frost, extreme temperatures, etc.

The Department of Horticulture has examined various crop insurance schemes covering horticultural crops and felt the need that a new scheme is required to cover crop loss due to natural calamities and adverse weather conditions. This scheme has been designed as Horticulture Crop Assurance Scheme and named as MBBY with the aim to encourage farmers to cultivate high-risk Horticulture Crops.

The parameters like hailstorms, frost, rainfall, flood, fire, etc., which lead to crop loss have been taken under the scheme.  A total of 21 vegetable, fruit and spice crops will be covered under the scheme.

Under this scheme farmers need to give only 2.5 percent, that is, Rs. 750 for vegetable and spice crop and Rs. 1000 for fruit crops against a sum assured of Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 40,000 respectively.

The claim compensation will be based on survey and extent of loss in four categories of 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent. The scheme will be optional and will cover the entire State.

Farmers will have to opt for this scheme while registering their crop and area on Meri Fasal Mera Byora (MFMB) portal. Season wise crop registration period will be fixed and notified from time to time. The scheme will be implemented at ‘Individual Field’ that is crop loss assessment will be done at the individual field level.

A seed capital of Rs. 10 crore will be kept by the State Government, State and District Level Committees under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) will monitor, review, and resolve the disputes at State Level as well as District Level.