Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has stressed on the need to raise awareness about the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana so that many more farmers can take advantage of the scheme.

 
Mr Tomar said this while interacting with stake-holders across the country through video conferencing on the occasion of completion of five years of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. He said, the scheme is a milestone crop insurance scheme, covering the full crop cycle against losses occurring due to non-preventable natural risks.

 
The Minister said, the scheme was fully operational even during the COVID-19 lockdown, distributing claims of over Rs 8,741 crore to around 70 lakh farmers across the country.

 
The Agriculture Minister also congratulated the State governments, banks and insurance companies for successful implementation of the scheme throughout the country. He cited some notable examples of instances where the scheme was able to safeguard the interests of farmers, such as disbursements of claims during dry spell in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, hailstorms in Haryana and locust attack in Rajasthan in 2019.