Govt introduces crop Insurance

Farmers to benefit from policy designed to provide protection against natural disasters


Our Correspondent January 08, 2023
A family harvests red chili peppers in Kunri, Pakistan, February 24, 2022. Devastating floods across Pakistan in August and September after several years of high temperatures, have left chilli farmers struggling in a country heavily dependent on agriculture, where officials have estimated $40 billion of flood damages. "When I was a child, the heat was never so intense. We used to have a plentiful crop, now it has become so hot, and the rains are so scarce that our yields have dwindled," farmer Leman Raj, 40, said. REUTERS

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HYDERABAD:

Government has introduced crop insurance to protect farmers against natural perils said, Federal Commerce Minister Syed Navid Qamar on Saturday.

He said that the Sindh government has inked an agreement with the World Bank for securing $500 million loan to finance the reconstruction of houses of the rain and flood affected people of the province.

Talking to the media in Tando Muhamamd Khan district on Saturday, where he set the foundation stone for construction of two roads, he said the provincial government will also set aside funds from its budget for the reconstruction of the damaged and collapsed houses.

The Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said the government is trying to secure up to $2 billion from the WB.

Qamar apprised that for the first time in Pakistan the government is going to introduce crop insurance so that in case of suffering any natural disaster like rain, flood or drought the farmers can be compensated by the insurance company.

Qamar said the government will also rebuild the damaged schools, hospitals, roads and other government infrastructure but the process will take some time because of unavailability of the funds.

According to him, the farmers who suffered losses because of rains in 2022 were also compensated to because of increase in the rates of different crops.

He said the government has also doubled the support price of wheat crop to Rs4,000 per maund.

He said the elections would be held on time.

He said even if the PTI opted to resign from the national assembly, it will be difficult to organise early elections.

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