Indian agriculture is dependent on Monsoon in such a way that any deviation in the onset or departure of the monsoon largely affects agricultural productivity in the entire Indian subcontinent by leaving farmers in the lurch.
Indian Monsoon is a complex
phenomenon and reportedly climate change has further accentuated the situation,
with each year surpassing the earlier records.
The year 2015 was declared
the warmest year on the earth, which was superseded by the subsequent year of
2016. 2017 too could have followed a similar trend but narrowly escaped on the
account of La Nina in the last quarter of the year.
The global temperature
profile has been showing a rising trend. It is estimated, by 2050, we can
anticipate an overall rise of 1-degree centigrade or more. A combination of
Climate Change, Global Warming, and a strong El Nino has created unusually warm
weather conditions since records began in the year 1950.
The rising global
temperatures have resulted in an increase in oceanic temperatures, which has
largely affected the pattern of the Indian Monsoon. The frequency of extreme
weather events has doubled in the last few years; be it in terms of excess
rains, heat, drought or floods. All these high-impact events have resulted in
the enormous variability of Monsoon rains both in terms of time and space.
The erratic behaviour of the
Monsoon and its vagaries cannot be taken lightly. The distribution of rainfall
during the Monsoon has now got distorted, which has been adversely affecting
farmers and their livelihoods.
In view of the indifferent
behaviour of the Monsoon on account of climate change and global warming, more
and more studies are needed to understand its dynamics. As of now, the
agri-risk on account of the truant nature of the Monsoon does not seem to have
any substantial mitigation in near future.
Global warming and climate
change have not only affected the rainfall patterns but have also altered the
process of glacier melt, sea level rise and forest fires. Extreme weather
events like floods, drought and hailstorms are at an all-time high.
Kharif season, which is
primarily dependent on the performance of the Monsoon, is not the only
sufferer.
Over the past few years, the
perils of climate change have also extended till the Rabi season. The Rabi crop
has become vulnerable on account of the unseasonal rain in March and April or
deficit winter rains. This is another emerging impact of climate change on
Indian agriculture.
In recent years, the erratic
and unpredictable behaviour of the Monsoon, accentuated by Climate Change has
caused extensive financial losses in terms of crop failures, damage to
agricultural infrastructures, loss of lives and properties etc. due to natural
and manmade disasters and destruction to the environment and farmlands. This
has aggravated food insecurity in the country.
The era of crop
insurance
In order to combat this
challenge, there is a need to adopt a strategy which may provide a
comprehensive solution to farming communities for safeguarding their
agricultural productivity.
Crop insurance is one such
area which is gaining momentum in the country. By adopting crop insurance,
farmers can leverage technology and data analysis to monitor, manage and reduce
the impact of agricultural risks.
The journey of crop insurance
in the country began 32 years ago. The government rolled out the schemes as
follows:
- 1958 Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme [CCS]
- 1999National Agriculture Insurance Scheme [NAIS]
- 2007Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme [WBCIS]
- 2011Modified National Agriculture Insurance Scheme {MNAIS]
- 2016Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna [PMFBY]
But there are a lot of challenges which need to be looked upon. Challenges are likely to:
- Coverage of non-loanee farmers: In fact, the enrollment of non-loanee farmers can be touted as the biggest challenge.
- Most of them belong to a small and marginal category or in some cases even landless. All this makes it difficult for non-loanee farmers to avail the benefits of the crop insurance scheme.
- Lack of awareness : The awareness campaigns should be designed to reach these farmers through various means such as radio, the spread of mouth, farmer meetings, etc.
- Low coverage in rainfed & remote areas: Crop insurance also needs to be endorsed in rainfed districts to cover the risk. More companies should be encouraged into this so as to increase the competition, which would eventually bring down the premium rates.
- Delayed/non-payment of claims: Though the PMFBY was successful in achieving the targets in terms of the number of farmers and area, the majority of farmers complained about delayed or non-payment of claims.
Looking at these challenges, the following recommendations may be considered:
- Increase awareness
- Change agents
- Updated technology
- Farmers feedback
- Policy enrolment dates
There should be a technological revolution in managing Crop Risk like Drones in particular. Low-altitude platform-based solutions hold huge potential when it comes to localized problem-solving. Drones can immediately offer solutions. Following are the areas where Drones can be useful:
- Delayed sowing
- Area sown validation
- Flood inundation
- Field-level data for yield estimation
- Crop Cutting Experiment [CCE]
- Fraud detection in loss reporting
Satellite-based can be used for high altitudes. It is providing a range of parameters measured from satellite platforms, allowing a high frequency of revisit and continuously improving spatial and spectral resolutions.
It is now possible to address
all loss assessment issues through the affective use of these datasets right
from prevented sowing to mid-season adversaries to yield estimation with more
accuracy and efficiency. It is a boon for a good crop,
remote sensing technology finds it challenging to gather the information below
the cloud cover.’
The digital
revolution in Agri-risk insurance
- The digital revolution is a well-established concept among modern agricultural communities.
- Technology has always been highly successful in intriguing farmers towards better farming practices and thereby crop insurance. One of the significant highlights of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna [PMFBY] is also to adopt of modern technological innovations.
- It is imperative that there should be a ‘scope of public-private partnership in agriculture’.
- Micro-irrigation is a priority area which impetus easy financing along with the subsidy for the farmers. Technological interventions through common sources be a factor which will be beneficial to farmers.
- There is a need to bring down the losses in the entire agriculture value chain and create a win-win situation both for farmers and industry.
In the agricultural sector, constant application of the latest ideas and better technologies is essential to enhance the economic well-being of the farmer. Considering the goal of enabling farmers to double their income by 2022, Crop Insurance will play a crucial role.
No doubt the technology
should be leveraged for accelerating the pace of the Agri insurance
sector.
Even now, at least four out
of 10 farmers are directly dependent on farming for their livelihoods.
As has been repeatedly
stated, the agricultural sector has the maximum potential for growth. The only
driver it needs to be financially engineered and technologically advanced to be
able to unveil maximum benefits for farmers.
Moreover, the Agri policy is based on four important points which need to be based on – infrastructure, investment, inputs and institutions.
