GUNTUR: Though the Central government introduced the crop insurance scheme for chilli in Guntur district in 2009 on an experimental basis, farmers are not able to avail themselves of the benefit due to lack of proper awareness about it.The chilli crop is cultivated in over 1.75 lakh acres in Guntur district. Over 75 per cent of the crop was damaged in December rains. But a majority of farmers failed to get insurance due to lack of proper awareness and failure in payment of premium.The Narasaraopet cooperative bank sanctioned crop loans worth Rs 10.79 crore to chilli farmers of Lingamguntla, Jonnalagadda, Chamalamarri, Ikkurru, Annavaram and Rompicherla primary agricultural cooperative societies. But the societies failed to pay the insurance premium to the insurance companies. Consequently, the chilli farmers did not get compensation for the crop loss suffered by them. A chilli farmer gets Rs 36,000 per acre as compensation if he suffers crop loss due to natural calamities. As the farmers failed ensure payment of premium through cooperative societies, they were deprived of the insurance cover for the cop loss incurred by them due rains in last December.In some cases, farmers are ignorant of claiming compensation under the crop insurance scheme for the loss incurred by them.V Kotireddy, a farmer of Rompicherla, said farmers were not getting crop insurance as some of them who got loans for chilli crop, actually cultivated paddy in violation of norms.
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