The agreement will facilitate guaranteeing a fair price to the chilli growers of Guntur by indemnifying them for losses incurred due to a fall in market prices. This is considered to be the first initiative in the market to insure the crop against the fluctuation of prices. So far, the crop insurance schemes have been implemented to provide compensation to the growers when they lost the produce due to the natural calamities. 

 

We understand the pain of the farmers. This initiative is designed to provide smallholding farmers the requisite shield against market price fluctuation, securing their income and supporting them to keep cultivating the preferred crop,’’ said Dr KC Ravi, Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Syngenta India on Wednesday.

This scheme by Syngenta’s vegetable seeds division will be a game-changer for the growers of chilli crop. He said that they thought that Guntur is best place to launch the scheme since around 80% of the red dry chilli is auctioned at Agriculture Market Committee in Guntur. He said that they have been working with the right partners to create a sustainable growth path for smallholder farmers. 

 

Syngenta vegetable seeds have been the choice of many growers due to its quality and service by the team on the ground. When we heard our growers being uncertain about the market price during commodity sales and concerned about securing their income, we wanted to provide them the necessary support,” said Sanjay Singh, territory head, South Asia Vegetables, Syngenta India. 

 

About 2,000 farmers of Atchampet in Guntur district have been given the insurance cover for about Rs.1.5 lakh per acre. The insurance offered by AIC would protect policyholders against unexpected fall in market prices. “If the market prices fall for the insured crop to a level below the threshold or guaranteed price, resulting in a loss, AIC will compensate the policyholder by providing the difference between this threshold price and the market model price,” said MK Poddar, CMD, AIC. 

 

Source: TOI