Andhra Pradesh, 12 July 2022: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy held a discussion with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar regarding the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in the state through video conference at the camp office in Tadepalli, Vijayawada on Tuesday.

As per the current agreement, the Centre needs to pay one-third of the cost, but the state government has taken it upon itself by taking care of its share and the farmers. It means the state government has taken up two-thirds of the cost and the Centre with only one-third.

Highlighting the scenario in the state, AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “We request that the Centre should also share the farmers premium amount, which is currently been taken care of by AP government, so that the scheme would do more wonders.”

Union Minister Tomar received the request of the Chief Minister Reddy while appreciating the state’s initiatives of giving universal coverage to all farmers.

During the interaction Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “AP will have universal coverage to farmers so that every agrarian activity is covered under the scheme. Our E-crop data with geo-tagging at the village level is solid since the RBKs (Rythu Bharosa Kendralu) are assisted with village assistants, revenue assistants, and so on.”

He added that since the payment of insurance premiums by the farmers is an issue, one-third of the farmers’ share is also taken care of by the state government so that all farmers can be included and the crop insurance come to them free of cost.

It may be noted that Andhra Pradesh was part of the scheme between 2016 and 2019 but exited due to the non-flexibility. To resolve the issue, officials from State and Centre had multiple meetings and added new features to it. The scheme will be part of the existing YSR Free Crop Insurance scheme to aid farmers who are suffering crop loss due to natural calamities.