CM writes to centre on discrepancies in loss assessment under PM crop insurance scheme

Farmers who suffered crop losses but were denied insurance because of technological deficiencies should be made eligible for their “legitimate insurance payouts for Kharif 2025”, the chief minister said

Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has written to union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan regarding discrepancies between loss assessment via technology and actual crop cutting experiments, which is affecting payouts to farmers enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

CM Devendra Fadnavis (Hindustan Times)

Farmers who suffered crop losses but were denied insurance because of technological deficiencies should be made eligible for their “legitimate insurance payouts for Kharif 2025”, the chief minister said, citing soybean yield data from three revenue circles.

In Hingani in Selu taluka of Wardha, crop cutting experiments (CCE) recorded a yield of 221.75 kg per hectare, against a technological yield of 1,433.82 kg/ha. In Borgaon, Arni taluka, Yavatmal, the CCE yield was 428.42 kg/ha, while the technological estimate was 1,323.19 kg/ha, whereas in Jambhulghat, Chimur taluka, Chandrapur, the CCE yield was 185.67 kg/ha, compared with technological yield at 1,383.21 kg/ha.

Given such discrepancies, accurate and reliable yield estimation is critical for fair and timely settlement of PMFBY claims, the chief minister said. “A comprehensive review of the methodology adopted for technology yield estimation under YES-TECH is needed,” he noted.

In his letter, Fadnavis said that in Maharashtra, equal weightage was given to CCE yield and technology-based yield estimates for the 2025-26 kharif season. However, there were significant discrepancies between the yield data obtained through the two methods in several revenue circles. To study the issue, Dr KK Dakhore, an agro-meteorologist from Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University, conducted a technical study in Dharashiv district, which found differences between yield estimates from the two methods, he said.