An Observational Study on Perception of Efficacy of Crop Insurance among the Farmers of a Community Development Block in the State of West Bengal

Crop insurance is a formal mechanism of risk management to farmers exposed to a similar type of risk in agricultural production. It is a means to protect the cultivators against financial loss on account of anticipated crop loss which might arise out of uncontrollable natural calamities such as natural fire, weather, floods, pests, diseases etc. In West Bengal, various crop insurance schemes have been implemented so far. The common aim of the schemes is to provide financial support to farmers in the event of crop failure and stabilize farm production and income of the farming community. This is the motivation behind the study. The study has been conducted among farmers of Hooghly district in West Bengal to understand their perception of efficacy of crop insurance schemes. Respondents include both insured and non-insured farmers. The mean age of the farmers with crop insurance was 43.18±16.13 years and the mean age of the ones without crop insurance was 44.22±18.07 years respectively (p=0.62). All respondents were males with full ownership of farms. The mean size of the farms was 5.95±3.28 bigha. A total number of 60 farmers were selected randomly out of which 30 farmers were with crop insurance and rest 30 were without crop insurance. Among the risk management strategies adopted for the destruction of crops, sale/ mortgage of land, sale of livestock and government relief were higher among non-insured farmers as compared to insured farmers (p>0.05).