62nd State Level Co-ordination Committee on Crop Insurance Held

Bhubaneswar: The 62nd State Level Co-ordination Committee on Crop Insurance (SLCCCI), which is the highest State level body for implementation of the crop insurance scheme- PMFBY, was held today under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena in the Second Floor Conference Hall of Lok Seva Bhawan. The Principal Secretary to Government, Agriculture & FE Department, Commissioner cum-Secretary to Government, Cooperation Department, Director, Agriculture and Food Production, Registrar, Cooperative Societies (Odisha), Director, Horticulture, Director, Economics and Statistics, representatives of OSCB, ORSAC, IMD, SLBC, Insurance Companies attended the meeting. The Director of Agriculture made a detailed presentation on the agenda points. Chief Secretary PK Jena appreciated the efforts of the Cooperation and Agriculture Department in the smooth implementation of the Crop Insurance Scheme and considerable growth in coverage under the scheme in Kharif 2023 and Rabi- 2023-24. He emphasised early settlement of all the claims of farmers by the insurance companies. It is noteworthy to mention that, the State Government has made enrolment under the scheme free of premium for farmers for land up to 2 hectares from Kharif 2023. The State is bearing the additional financial burden from its resources. The Committee appreciated the use of technology in crop yield estimation and crop cutting experiments (CCEs), which has considerably reduced the number of disputes being raised by insurance companies against the CCEs. The representatives of the insurance companies also expressed their satisfaction with the support being extended by the district administration and the Departments in the smooth implementation of the scheme. The Committee decided to do a pilot study on the 4 other models suggested under the scheme. The committee also approved for issue of notification by the Cooperation Department in the next Kharif Season. Discussion was held to diversify the activities of the Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) with specific focus on agriculture related business activities. The Chief Secretary Sri Jena advised all the Departments having Cooperatives to strengthen these institutions for delivering better services to its members and the Society in line with the cooperative values. Chief Secy PK Jena also advised to ensure regular and up to date audit of the Fishery and Diary Cooperatives. Principal Secretary, A&FE, Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, in appreciating the efforts of Cooperative Banks in extension of Agri Credit emphasised on supply of Fertiliser and Seeds through “B” component under the KCC finance. The computerisation of all the PACS and seamless operation of the Cooperative Banks in CBS platform was also discussed in detail in the meeting.

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