Making crop insurance a reality

In the context of increasing natural calamities, crop insurance for farmers is not an option but an imperative. Farmers who feed the nation certainly deserve to be insured in time of devastation of or damage to their crops. The reversal suffered by farmers in haor (wetland or backswamp) areas despite a bumper crop they grew this year speaks volumes for such a state-initiated protection measure. Catastrophes such as this not only render them near paupers but also threaten the nation's food security or sovereignty. Reports have it that many share croppers in the haor areas are now on the run in order to avoid their money lenders. The loss of the fruits of their labour in the field leaves no option for them to payback the loans taken from money lenders.

So the gravity of the situation cannot be overemphasised. If the crops were insured, farmers did not have to face the crisis at its worst. When State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit announces that the government is working on the introduction of crop insurance, it pours honey not only into haor farmers' ears but also ears of the country's farmers in general. It is too early to comment on the progress of the government policy. The state minister made the statement at the time of inaugurating the Boro paddy procurement drive in Jashore. Introduction of crop insurance is a most important and serious matter. This is a preserve of the Ministry of Agriculture. Any off-hand or casual statement by a minister of another ministry would better be avoided. The involvement of Aninda Islam's ministry with that of agriculture is in the areas of input like power that helps irrigation of paddy field.

Agriculture may not hold the premier position in national economy but it still employs the largest size of workforce contributing 11-13 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP). The agribusiness sector is growing at eight per cent annually. If the new government is serious about insuring farmers, it has to do so on the basis of reliable data on agriculture for at least a decade or more. In a natural calamity-prone country like Bangladesh, the task may prove to be a daunting challenge. When crop insurance is an objective, it would be wise to introduce the system phase by phase. The prime candidate for this will be the staples.

Right now the country's economy has been weakened by the energy crisis and unless the ability to finance such programmes improves it will remain a pipedream. Perennial budget deficit on account of gaps between revenue collection and set targets is a constraint that has to be overcome fast. To do so pragmatic measures need to be taken. The tax collection regime has to be improved and at the same time management of the agriculture sector recalibrated for avoidance of crop losses. It is clear from reports on harvest in the haor areas that shortage of labour has been one of the problems responsible for damage and destruction of paddy. Had there been a quick response such as employing crop reapers and combined harvesters following the early sign of flash floods, the crop loss could be minimised to a large extent.

This government has done a good job by introducing Farmers' Card which will help farmers purchase agricultural inputs at subsidised prices and access low-interest agricultural loans. Farmers' welfare may be further advanced by mechanising agriculture. Cooperatives of farmers can be formed for providing those with harvesters at easy-term payment. This way the insurance programme will be helped by the theory of 'prevention is better than cure'. In fact, the whole gamut of paddy cultivation starting from sowing seeds or planting paddy plants to harvesting has to be reviewed with an emphasis on further research on development of newer varieties of paddy for early harvest.

At the same time canal excavation has to be carried out meaningfully with direct connection to rivers and other water bodies. Dying rivers have also to be revived by dredging and driving out encroachers. If rivers die, canals linked to those will have no use. All such measures will contribute to successfully implementing an affordable crop insurance policy.

nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com