This scheme aims to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases.
The scheme provides comprehensive risk insurance to cover yield losses of standing crops due to non-preventable risks such as natural fire and lightning; storm, hailstorm, cyclone, typhoon, tempest, hurricane, tornado etc.; flood, inundation and landslide; drought and dry spells; pests and diseases etc.
The scheme covers both Kharif and Rabi crops along with annual commercial and horticultural crops.
However, over the years, the traditional agricultural practise of crop cutting experiment or CCE, conducted for estimating yield and claim settlement, lacked reliability and speed. There was an urgent need to adopt timely and reliable yield-data for smooth running of the PMFBY for which there was a need for reliable weather data and Automated Weather Station (AWS).
An AWS is a device which captures the live weather parameters such as temperature, rainfall, wind, and humidity of the location it is installed. The live weather data from the AWS is primarily consumed by insurance companies for Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) and PMFBY claim settlements.
Skymet stepped in to fulfil this gap and by the second quarter of 2016, Skymet had successfully installed 3500 Automated Weather Station (AWS) across the country. The premier government body, IMD, has just 1800 AWS and the other two organizations have even lesser number of stations installed across the country.
By providing reliable weather data in order to ensure timely and accurate claim settlement, Skymet and PMFBY are encouraging farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices, ensuring flow of credit to the agriculture sector.