New Delhi, Nov 18 (NationPress) In a significant move benefiting farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has unveiled new measures aimed at compensating for crop losses caused by wild animal intrusions and flooding of paddy fields in susceptible regions under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), as stated in an official announcement made on Tuesday.

According to the updated guidelines, losses from wild animal attacks are now classified as the fifth supplementary cover under the 'Localised Risk' category.

States will be responsible for identifying the species of wild animals that inflict crop damage and will designate vulnerable districts or insurance units based on historical data.

Farmers are mandated to report any losses within 72 hours using the Crop Insurance App, which requires the submission of geotagged photographs, as noted in the statement.

These measures have been implemented following persistent appeals from various states and are intended to enhance protections for farmers against sudden, localized, and severe crop destruction.

The guidelines have been crafted in line with the PMFBY Operational Guidelines, ensuring a scientifically sound, transparent, and practically feasible framework for nationwide application, set to commence from Kharif 2026.

For years, farmers throughout India have faced escalating crop losses due to attacks from wild animals such as elephants, wild boars, nilgai, deer, and monkeys. Such incidents are prevalent in areas adjacent to forests, wildlife corridors, and hilly regions. Previously, these losses often went without compensation as they were not included in crop insurance.

Simultaneously, paddy farmers in flood-prone and coastal states have consistently suffered from inundation during intense rainfall and overflowing rivers.

Paddy inundation was excluded from the localized calamity category in 2018 due to worries about moral hazards and challenges in assessing submerged crops. However, this exclusion resulted in a significant gap in protection for farmers in districts prone to seasonal flooding.

In light of these emerging risks and challenges, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare formed an expert committee.

The committee's recommendations have now received approval from Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

As a result of this crucial decision, farmers encountering localized crop damage will now benefit from timely and technology-driven claim settlements under PMFBY, the statement adds.

This coverage is anticipated to substantially aid farmers in states experiencing significant human-wildlife conflict, including Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, as well as the Himalayan and Northeastern states like Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim, and Himachal Pradesh, where wild animal depredation incidents are frequent and widespread.

Reinstating Paddy Inundation as a Localized Calamity Cover under PMFBY will particularly assist farmers in coastal and flood-prone states, such as Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttarakhand, where challenges posed by paddy submergence are recurrent.

With the inclusion of Wild Animal Attacks, these enhancements render PMFBY more inclusive, responsive, and farmer-centric, thereby further bolstering the resilience of India’s crop insurance framework, the statement concluded.