BJP State vice-president Arvind Bhadauriya said in a statement here on Tuesday that fourteen crore farmer families of the country would be provided with economical shield by bringing them in the ambit of Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme. Bhadauriya said, “Post-independence it is for the first time that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government has done partnership in the risk of farmers. Provision of `8,000 crore has been made for the crop insurance for the next three years.” He further said that if the farmers could not do sowing due to natural calamity then also they would be eligible for relief besides, the insurance cover would be extended up to reaching of the crop to farmer’s residence after being cut.

He said there are adequate reasons for initiating PM Crop Insurance Scheme in India. Indian economy is based on agriculture as over 71 per cent people of the country are dependent on agriculture. 1.5 of world’s agriculture export comes from India while the share of agriculture in GDP of the country is 14.2 per cent and the contribution of agriculture in national income is 14 per cent, he added. He said that only about 23 per cent of the farmers of country could manage to get benefits of the crop insurance schemes started since independence but the Modi Government has set a target of benefitting over 50 per cent farmers in the coming three years while in the next five years all the farmers of the country would be part of the scheme.