'Mee Annapurna' - An inclusive program for welfare of farmers, Bhoomiputras launched across Maharashtra

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 19 (ANI/PRNewswire): Maharashtra is the most affected state with the total number of cases surpassing 30,000 and the death toll nearing 1,100 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Farmers' body Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in a press statement on Friday said that they were disturbed to read about draft recommendations made by the Group of Ministers on Employment, merging Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act with skill development programmes to create a wage subsidy programme.
With more and more small and marginal farmers being forced to take up daily wage labour on larger parcels of land for survival, the state government is likely to face a big challenge to bring them back into the institutional credit system after the lockdown is lifted.
The famers will have to be given an adequate loan to cover the input expenditure for farming. Arguably, without the concrete measures, 40 to 45 per cent farmers will be forced to take up daily wage work on bigger farmlands or explore alternative jobs.
Keeping this in mind, the Department of Agriculture, Govt of Maharashtra announced a three year empanelment of insurance companies and intermediaries for implementation of crop insurance scheme across the state. The tender was issued on the guidelines of Revamped Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Post-launch of the guidelines, Integrated Risk Insurance, an IRDA Licensed insurance intermediary, announced 'Mee Annapurna', an initiative that integrates three critical aspects of livelihood and comprehensive engagement.
"'Mee Annapurna' initiative revolves around the three commandments - Expertise, Engagement and Entitlement. It is our commitment as a Corporate Social Responsibility towards the welfare of the farmers and agriculture community in Maharashtra," said Dr JH Rusat, a Senior Official at Integrated Risk Insurance.
"Our organisation was amongst the first to be Licensed by IRDAI. Our capabilities have been suitably built over 16 plus years of dedication and commitment. Our technology, round-the-clock helpline and unparalleled communication support makes us a compelling partner for implementation of the Crop Insurance Scheme across the State of Maharashtra," he added.
"If given an opportunity, we will be providing FREE-OF-COST skill based training to about 1500 plus individuals across 35 districts in Maharashtra and give them a sustainable livelihood by engaging them for the activities related to premium collection, verification of documents, crop cutting experiments and audits. Our endeavour is to announce a special investment package for the welfare of farmers," he further added.
"We must unite in our efforts to uplift the farming community. We shall re-invest a substantial amount of our income in building long-term sustainable program for continuity of income for the individuals associated with agriculture and allied activities. This is our commitment to the Bhoomiputra's of Atmanirbhar Maharashtra and understandably defines the objective of our initiative 'Mee Annapurna'," said Prashant Rao, who heads the Crop Insurance Operations at Integrated.
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