Calamities hit farmers still await compensation
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
An insurance policy, which was meant to provide protection against losses due to natural calamities to farmers who had signed up for it, is not actually providing coverage to all of them, which has left many whose crops were destroyed this year, dismayed.
Back in 2017, the Punjab government had approved a crops insurance policy to protect against losses as a result of natural calamities. The policy was a godsend for farmers in the province and more than 2.2 million farmers have registered for it in the past 6 years and Rs 1.390 million has been paid as compensation under it.
However, there are thousands of farmers like Salamat Ali, a resident of Karimabad, which is a suburb of Rahim Yar Khan, who have filed their claims for losses but are yet to receive any compensation, despite a significant amount of time having lapsed. “My standing crops on 8 acres of land were destroyed due to heavy rains, wind, hailstorms a few months back. I had hoped that the compensation from the insurance scheme would help cover my losses but I am yet to receive a single penny,” lamented Ali. “I am not alone in this plight, hundreds of others around the area, who have signed up for the insurance policy, have not received any compensation at all,” he added.
Ali’s claims are backed by a survey carried out by The Express Tribune in the Rahim Yar Khan and DG Khan area of Punjab, to which 100 farmers responded. 43 per cent of the respondents said that their crops had been destroyed by the hailstorms a few months back and they had not received any compensation despite filing claims. Whereas, only 9 per cent confirmed that they had received payments to cover their losses.
It is pertinent to mention that a significant reason for many farmers not receiving compensation in time might be incorrect contact information, as 48 per cent of respondents had not given correct phone numbers or had given the contact details of relatives, who lived in other districts.
Nevertheless, The Express Tribune spoke to Director General (DG) Crop Reporting Service Punjab, Dr Abdul Qayyum, about the plight of the farmers who had not received the payments they had claimed. “If the crop production in a district centre, tehsil, or union council is 10 to 20 per cent less than the average production of the last 10 years, only then will the insured farmers be able to bring a claim,” explained Dr Qayyum, further adding that if wheat and rice crops are affected by more than 10 per cent and cotton crops by more than 20 per cent, the farmers are compensated.
“Moreover, farmers must register themselves with the regional office of the Agriculture Department before planting each crop. Under this scheme, the government pays 100 per cent of the insurance premium for farmers with an area of less than 5 acres and 50 per cent of the premium for an area between 5 and 25 acres,” the DG elaborated.
While Dr Qayyum described the policy as foolproof, Amir Hayat Bhandara, an agronomist, was of the view that the scheme has many flaws. “For instance, last year the cotton crop in Sahiwal and Chichawatni was damaged severely but the government did not compensate small farmers who had less than 5 acres of land. Under this policy the government does not compensate farmers unless the entire tehsil is declared as hit by a calamity,” regretted Bhandara while talking to The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2023.