Low premium insurance for milch animals | Fusion - WeRIndia

Crop insurance for farmers has been launched in June. It was an ambitious project. Now, the Union Agriculture Ministry proposed to launch a similar low premium insurance cover for milch cows and buffaloes. The ministry aims at offering protection for farmers and cattle rearers. This is because many farmers have lost their livestock during natural disasters. Such loss can be minimized with the proposed low premium insurance.

Under the proposed scheme, farmers will have to pay a very low premium. It is expected that it would be as low as just 1% of the sum insured.

The government announced that the additional premium, if charged, will be subsidized by the Centre, state governments and milk producers’ societies or dairy cooperatives. In order to make this a success, the government is forming a mechanism after consultations.

Currently, farmers have to pay high premium for insuring their livestock. They have to pay around 4 to 6% of the sum insured.

The idea to launch this scheme was formed in a meeting held by the animal husbandry secretary Devendra Chaudhry. In the meeting, all stakeholders including representatives of insurance companies met to discuss how such a scheme would work. The full details of the scheme would soon be announced by the ministry.

According to an official from the meeting, this proposed scheme will be placed before the cabinet for approval. The scheme would cover milch cows and buffaloes. Farmers would get coverage of loss of those animals during natural disasters like floods, droughts, landslides and earthquake.

The official also said that the low premium is set to encourage more farmers and cattle rearers to go for insurance cover for their livestock. At present, many avoid it to cut costs. However, insurance is useful in times of emergencies. When farmers are facing uncertainties of crop production, they will be able to get extra income.

Image credit: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://pixabay.com/it/photos/assicurazione-contratto-3113180/