Telangana to strengthen crop insurance schemes to support farmers amid climate challenges

Hyderabad: Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao expressed confidence that enhanced crop insurance schemes will help safeguard farmers against crop losses caused by climate-related disruptions such as unseasonal rains, hailstorms, and drought conditions.

The Minister chaired a preliminary meeting on Wednesday at the Secretariat, along with Agriculture Secretary Raghunandan Rao and Rythu Commission Chairman Kodanda Reddy, to discuss the implementation of crop insurance programmes.

Speaking after the meeting, Rao said that yield-based insurance schemes will cover crops such as paddy, maize, red gram, green gram, soybean, groundnut, chickpea, and sesame. Additionally, for weather-based insurance schemes, crops like cotton, chilli, mango, oil palm, tomato, and sweet lime will be included.

He instructed officials to design the weather-linked crop insurance model with a focus on maximising farmer benefits. He also directed a thorough review of the feasibility of providing full compensation for losses to major crops like paddy and mango, which are especially vulnerable to hailstorms during summer.

The Minister further emphasised the need to study how other states are implementing the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and to draft proposals that ensure maximum benefit for Telangana’s farming community.