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| Kashmir farmers yet to accept crop insurance scheme | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu,April 11:-Farmers in Jammu and Kashmir have yet to evince interest in accepting crop insurance,that was introduced in the state during the last Rabi season.Official sources said that not even 10 per cent of the farmers in the Kashmir valley and not more than 25 per cent agriculturists in the Jammu region have accepted the scheme.
Asked to explain the reason behind poor response of farmers to the crop insurance scheme the Agriculture Minister,G.H.Mir,said that farmers in Jammu and Kashmir have usually been less enthusiastic about any new scheme.He said invariably farmaers' response to any new scheme is slow and that has been the reason for weak agricultural base in the state.
Mir stated that whenever farmers were shown the technique of using new implements or seeds it would take them time to adopt new practices.He said that the Department of Agriculture will organise series of seminars and workshops in different parts of the state where farmers could be explained the utility of crop insurance. He said that the farmers need to know that farm production in Jammu and Kashmir is controlled by the vagaries of weat her and invariably crops are either damaged owing to snow and rain or owing to drought and for escaping heavy losses owing to weather related damage farmers should accept crop insurance.
He said that under the natural calamity scheme far mers whose crops have suffered more than 50 per cent damage are paid some r elief and not compensation.Whereas under crop insurance scheme farmers could receive comnpensation for any amount of loss they have suffer ed.
In reply to another question Mir said that the year 2009-2010 has not been favourable for agricultural operations because of scarcity of rains
during last kharif and delayed rain during the 2010 rabi season.He said that the Government will concentrate on assisting farmers in taking to double cropping system.Hitherto Jammu and Kashmir has been a mono cropping state and "we want to break this tradition by introducing wheat-Paddy rotation technique."
The Minister stated that over 9000 kanals of land have been covered under paddy-wheat rotation and far m mechanisation.He said that the Government had acquired three units of paddy transplanters and 14 wheat thrashers for mass demor ation so that farmers started using these implements for better far ms production.In addition to this the Government has decided to provide subsidy on the purchase of agricultural machiney and farm equipments such as sprayers,irrigation pump sets,tillers,thrashers,shellers,reapers,potato planters seend cum fertiliser drills etc.This step has been taken to assist farmers in adopting new techniques required for better output.(eom)
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