Lok Sabha Question No. 346 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-25
Subject: Benefits of Crop Insurance Scheme for Tomato Farmers
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Manish Jaiswal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 346

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 25 TH  MARCH, 2025

## BENEFITS OF CROP INSURANCE SCHEME FOR TOMATO FARMERS

*346. SHRI MANISH JAISWAL:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

(a) the manner in which tomato farmers are likely to be benefitted from the crop insurance scheme along with the details thereof;

(b)  whether  any  arrangements  have  been  made  by  the  Government  for  the  export  of tomatoes from Jharkhand; and

(c) If so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी (SHRI SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN)

(a) to (c)  :   A statement is laid on the table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO PART (a) TO (c) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 346 FOR 25 TH  MARCH,  2025  REGARDING BENEFITS OF CROP INSURANCE SCHEME FOR TOMATO FARMERS.

(a):      The  Pradhan  Mantri  Fasal  Bima  Yojana  (PMFBY)  envisages  coverage  of  all  food crops  (cereals, millets and pulses), oilseeds and commercial/horticultural crops subject to availability  of  past  yield  data  of  requisite  number  of  years  based  on  Crop  Cutting Experiments  (CCEs)  as well as capacity of the State Government to conduct requisite number of CCEs to assess the yield of the crop to calculate claims.   However, specific crop is notified by the concerned State Government keeping in view the aforesaid provision.

For the crops not meeting the aforesaid conditions, the concerned State Government is  free  to  notify  them  for  coverage  under  Restructured  Weather  Based  Crop  Insurance Scheme   (RWBCIS)  under  which  claims  payment  are  being  structured  on  the  basis  of weather index parameters.

State Governments of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Karnataka, Tripura and Tamil Nadu are notifying the tomato crop under PMFBY for the benefit of tomato growing farmers of  their  States.    On  the  other  hand,  State  Governments  of  Andhra  Pradesh,  Himachal Pradesh,  Chhattisgarh,  Kerala,  Rajasthan,  Uttar  Pradesh  and  Uttarakhand  are  notifying tomato crop under RWBCIS.

The  Pradhan  Mantri  Fasal  Bima  Yojana  (PMFBY)  implemented  since  2016  is voluntary for States/Union Territories (UTs) as well as for farmers.  Since inception of the scheme,  27  states/UTs  implemented  PMFBY  in  one  or  more  reasons.    The  State  of Jharkhand implemented the scheme since inception till Kharif 2020.  Since then, the state has discontinued the  scheme.  However, due to the efforts made by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, the State of Jharkhand has re-entered the PMFBY from Kharif 2024.   As State Government has re-joined the PMFBY recently, only major crops have been notified by the State.

(b) & (c): The Department of Commerce through the Agricultural and Processed Food Products  Export  Development  Authority  (APEDA)  provides  financial  assistance  to  its member exporters including those based in Jharkhand, for export promotion of its scheduled products, including tomatoes, through its Financial Assistance Scheme. The Scheme has the following components:

(i)  Development  of  Export  Infrastructure :    APEDA  recognizes  the  importance  of infrastructure for growth of agro-industries and export of agricultural products in the value chain. The scheme component covers both fresh produce and processed food products. The objective  of the  scheme is to  reduce losses  caused due to  spoilage and to  ensure quality production of agro products. To achieve this, it seeks to set up post-harvest handling facilities. Under this component, assistance is provided for the following:

-  Infrastructure such as pack house facilities with packing/grading lines
-  Pre- cooling units with cold storages and refrigerated transportation etc.
-  Cable system for handling of crops like banana
-  Common infrastructure facilities
-  Pre-shipment treatment facilities such  as irradiation,  Vapour  Heat Treatment,  Hot Water Dip  Treatment  for  compliance  to  Phyto-Sanitary  requirements  of  importing countries
-  Infrastructure for processing facilities (process food sector) for addressing missing gaps  which  may  include  equipment  like  X-ray,  Screening,  Sortex,  filth  /  metal detector, sensors, vibrators or any new equipment or technology for food safety and quality requirements.

(ii) Quality Development :  To participate/engage in international trade, it is necessary to comply with Food Safety requirements of different countries. Several importing countries demand  adherence  to  stringent  Maximum  Residue  Levels.    Some  of  the  developed importing countries have set up Maximum Residue Levels at very low level. For this, high precision  equipments  are  required  to  be  installed  by  the  food  testing  labs.  Under  this component, assistance is provided to comply with the prescribed standards of importing countries. Assistance under this component covers the following:

- o Installation of quality management systems,
- o Laboratory testing equipment,
- o Hand  held  devices  for  capturing  farm  level  peripheral  coordinates  for  traceability systems and testing of samples etc.
- o Testing  of  water,  soil,  residues  or  pesticides,  veterinary  drugs,  hormones,  toxins, heavy metal, contaminants etc.

(iii) Market Development : This component helps exporters to achieve market access in new markets and help sustain their presence in the existing markets. It covers structured marketing strategies  for  export  of  food  products,  market  intelligence  for  taking  informed decisions,  international  exposure,  skill  development,  capacity  building  and  high  quality packaging. The assistance under this component covers the following:

-  Participation in International trade fairs
-  Exchange of trade delegations
-  Organizing buyer seller meets
-  Developing  packaging  standards  for  new  products  and  upgrading  the  existing standards   , international exposure, skill  development, capacity  building  and  high quality packaging.

During the year 2024-25, APEDA organized 11 export-oriented training and capacity building programmes for farmers and other stakeholders in Jharkhand focusing on potential agricultural products of the State.

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