POKHARA, Nov 8:A free agriculture insurance program has been launched in 11 districts including Myagdi of Gandaki Province. The federal government has been providing 75 percent grant in the premium money of agriculture insurance while the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives of the province will bear the remaining 25 percent.
“The provincial government has launched a free agriculture insurance scheme this year. It will help attract farmers toward agriculture insurance and save them from agricultural losses,” said Narayan Kusum, chief of the Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Expert Centre, Myagdi.
For availing the grants, the agriculture and livestock expert centre asked farmers who paid insurance money from July 16 to apply along with the receipts and other necessary documents. The deadline to apply for the grants is 29 June 2021. The service is based on first-come-first-serve.
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For providing the grants to the beneficiaries, the Beni-based Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Expert Centre has received Rs 4.5 million and the Agriculture Knowledge Centre Rs 400,000. The expert centre and knowledge centre cover Myagdi and Mustang districts in this regard.
Likewise, the government has brought a programme to provide grants to farmers cultivating land left fallow. Grants worth Rs 3,000 is provided per ropani for cultivating the land that is left fallow for at least three years, said Gobinda Pandey of the knowledge centre.
“Rs 2.4 million has been released for this programme. We have also issued a notice to farmers to apply for it,” he said.
Moreover, farmers who grow vegetables two seasons a year in plastic houses covering at least two ropanis of land or 200 square meters area will get grants worth Rs 3,000 per ropani, he said, adding that Rs 1.5 million has been released for this.
Also, Rs 5.1 million has been sanctioned for farmers who sell milk through cooperatives.
