AP CM Naidu directs officials to ensure crop insurance for cyclone-hit farmers

Naidu Reviews Crop Insurance Cover

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has instructed Agriculture Department officials to make crop insurance work as a financial safeguard for farmers hit by natural calamities. Chairing a review with senior officials in Amaravati, he asked the department to spread awareness and issue clear field-level guidelines so that the scheme reaches eligible cultivators.

The direction follows losses to the farm sector this season from cyclones Arnab and Murasu, which struck in close succession. For Kharif this year, the state has notified 22 crops for insurance. Yield-based cover applies to 15 crops, while the remaining seven are covered under weather-based insurance. Naidu said enrolment has risen sharply because of state measures, and that Andhra Pradesh ranks sixth nationally in crop insurance coverage.

Scale Of Coverage This Season

Insurance cover has been extended to crops grown by 17.07 lakh farmers this year. Paddy, red gram, groundnut, cotton, chilli and maize together make up 90 per cent of the insured area. A large share of the paddy area falls in the 16 districts affected by the cyclones. The state is also extending input subsidy to farmers. Naidu observed that when insurance payouts and input subsidy are received together, cultivators can recover their costs and attain financial security. He told officials to ensure compensation reaches every farmer who has paid the premium.

The Chief Minister also flagged pending field work: 30,286 Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) must be completed, and he directed that these be finished on schedule. CCEs are the yield measurement exercises that feed into loss assessment and payout calculations under yield-based insurance.

Why It Matters For Businesses

For agri-input suppliers, commodity traders, food processors and lenders with exposure to Andhra Pradesh's farm belt, the speed of claim settlement shapes rural cash flows and, in turn, demand and repayment behaviour. Insurers an…