Farmers who have raised maize in Madurai district and nearby areas want the Union government to extend the date for insuring their crops under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana as the deadline has already passed.
While the Union government extended the cut-off date for registration of paddy crops till November 22, following request from the State government, it did not do the same for maize farmers, said M.P. Raman, president of Vaigai-Tirumangalam Main Canal Water Users Farmer Association. He said that while the paddy-growing farmers were mostly land holders who could sustain loss to a certain extent, those into maize crop farming were poor and depended only on seasonal rains as their primary water source.
In Madurai district, maize farming was carried out predominantly in and around Peraiyur, Tirumangalam and Usilampatti. About 45,00 acres in Peraiyur taluk, 47,000 acres in Tirumangalam taluk and about 400 acres in Usilampatti taluk – all rainfed – were suitable only for raising maize. “In these areas, not more than 10% of the tilled land was insured. The primary reason being farmers ignorance of such technicalities. These are people who are into farming on a small scale and so do not earn much, and if the crops fail due to a natural calamity, they will be driven to penury,” Mr. Raman said.
“As most of the maize farming is done on areas near rocky terrain where water is scarce, their fields are prone to drought. When the monsoon fails, they are the most affected. In this backdrop, if the maize farmers are also given an extension, they can protect their crops by registering for the insurance. So, the State government must make a request for extension to the Union government for maize farmers also,” Mr. Raman said.
