Crops on upto 50 hectares to be covered in PMFBY: MP minister

With this directive of reducing the condition to 50 hectares, small and marginal farmers and those living forest villages will also be benefitted," the minister said.

In a bid to extend benefits of the Centre's crop insurance scheme to maximum number of farmers, Madhya Pradesh minister Kamal Patel on Thursday directed officials to relax a clause to include crops cultivated in upto 50 hectares of land as opposed to the current 100 or more hectares. The directive will be a boon for forest villages, small and marginal farmers who are deprived of benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the minister for farmer welfare and agriculture told PTI.

"At present, any crop cultivated in 100 or more hectares is covered in the scheme. With this directive of reducing the condition to 50 hectares, small and marginal farmers and those living forest villages will also be benefitted," the minister said. Patel has asked the principal secretary of the agriculture department to ensure that the provision comes into force before the next Kharif season.