Owing to rapid cyclones, one after the other, (namely: Cyclone Helen, Phailin and Lehar) hasn't allowed farmers in coastal Andhra Pradesh to harvest even a handful of rice this year. Some of these farmers usually harvest up to 140 quintals (or 10,000-14,000 kg) of rice each year.
“Andhra Pradesh has a long coastline of 970 km, which is known to be most vulnerable and prone to cyclones in India every year. While 2013 saw the maximum number of severe cyclones in India, especially in Andhra, 2012 wasn't any different. Cyclone Nilam in 2012 had also led to a damage of over 76,980 hectares of paddy crop”, says Mahesh Palawat of Skymet’s Meteorological Division.
Measures
In the past four decades, Andhra Pradesh has witnessed more than 60 cyclones, therefore to provide aid to farmers suffering crop losses due to severe cyclones the central government has tried to simplify insurance mechanisms under the National Crop Insurance Program (NCIP) which includes the Pilot Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme, the Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme and the Pilot Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme.
Since 2000, the state has offered crop insurance, a service currently used by 7.2 million farmers in 22 districts. It covers a range of food crops including paddy, maize, millet, pulses and nuts, as well as non-food crops like sugarcane and cotton.
Farmer woes
While some farmers expect the government to pay for the damage incurred from a series of cyclones, there are others who describe crop insurance as ‘feeble efforts to stop a flooding river with straws’.
“Unpaid loans force many farmers to commit suicide every year. Plus, the insurance sum takes about a year to reach a farmer. By the time the money for one cyclone comes, the farmer has faced a couple more of cyclones. This forces him to take loans from private money lenders. It’s like a never-ending tragedy,” said Appa Rao, a farmer from Gunabhadra village in Vizianagaram district.
Absence of stringent crop insurance laws and policies is blamed on the current political instability in the state, which is soon to be divided to create another new state called Telangana.
Photo by heloandhra.