Farmers across the country have long been struggling with crop losses due to attacks by different wild animals like elephants, wild boars, nilgai, deer and monkeys. This problem is especially acute for farmers living in forest areas, forest corridors and near hilly areas. Till now, such losses were not covered under the crop insurance scheme, causing huge loss to farmers.
Similarly, farmers growing paddy in coastal and floodplain areas are facing huge losses due to water logging caused by rains and flooding of rivers and streams. To correct this, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has formed an expert committee, which will now help farmers facing local crop losses in getting timely benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
Must report within 72 hours
As per the changed rules, crop loss caused by wild animals has been recognized as a fifth “add-on cover” under the local risk category. State Governments will notify a list of wild animals and identify the most affected districts/insurance units based on historical data. Farmers will have to report crop loss with geo-tagged photos on the Crop Insurance App within 72 hours.
These states will benefit
The biggest benefit from this rule will be those states which have been suffering crop loss due to wild animals for a long time. These include farmers from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, as well as Himalayan and north-eastern states like Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh.
Information given on social media
On the official account of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) on social media platform
This report fulfills a long-standing demand of farmers, paving the way to include both these risks as local disasters. The report also suggests detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) and methods to assess these risks. As per the information posted on social media, it is necessary to register for PMFBY for Rabi 2025-26. Registration is open from December 1 to December 31, 2025. For more details, you can visit https://pmfby.gov.in or call 14447.
