India: Crop insurance scheme appears to have failed to rescue farmers in distress

The weather-based crop insurance scheme does not seem to have come to the rescue of farmers, who suffered losses in potato cultivation in Hassan last year. Of the total Rs. 7.03 crore paid as premium to the insurance company, the farmers could claim only Rs. 1.67 crore. As many as 25 farmers of Hassan have committed suicide since April this year. A majority of them were potato growers, who suffered losses due to late blight disease. Last year, the government insisted that farmers go for weather-based insurance scheme, assuring that it would help them in times of crop loss. More