BackLow-cost disaster insurance for coconut growers
Low-cost disaster insurance for coconut growers
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Reuters
Mumbai: The Agriculture Insurance Co of India (AIC) is planning to launch an insurance scheme for coconut palm growers in April, a senior official said on Wednesday, 5 March.
The scheme would be launched in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Maharashtra, he said.
“We are making it really cheap and affordable for the farmers," the official, who did not want to identified, told Reuters.
The scheme has been categorized into five different age groups of coconut palm, and in case of disaster it would cover the replanting cost as well as loss of income, he said.
The compensation amount varies from Rs350 to Rs1,150 per tree depending on the age of the plant, while premium amount ranges from Rs2.80 to Rs5.75, he said. The insurance amount would be Rs200,000 per hectare.
The state-run company has already launched an insurance policy for rubber planters in January.
India will introduce a crop insurance scheme for tea, tobacco, chilli, pepper, ginger, turmeric, pepper and cardamom from 2008/09, the finance minister said in his budget address last week.
“We are working on that. We are in touch with ministry of commerce regarding insurance schemes for spices," the official said.
Coconut palm is a tropical plant that requires hot and humid climate. The tree starts producing fruits after eight years and are harvested in bunches manually by the tree climbers.
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