Impact on farmer’s satisfaction towards Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) in Purnia district of Bihar

Introduction

A large part of India's population is still working in agriculture, which remains a key part of the country's economy. However, Indian farming is often done on small and very small farms, and it depends a lot on the monsoon rains. Farmers are also very vulnerable to weather problems like floods, droughts, hailstorms, and attacks by insects. Because of these risks, crops can fail, income can be unstable, and farmers often end up in debt. To deal with these issues, it's important to have good ways to manage risks. In 2016, the Indian government started the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY), a crop insurance scheme that provides full coverage at lower costs. The program uses technology to make premiums more standard and improves how claims are settled, making it better than earlier schemes. PMFBY aims to reduce the difficulties faced by farmers, encourage them to continue farming, and help make their income more stable. Even though the scheme has good potential, many farmers in different states are not happy and don't feel confident because of problems like slow government processes, late payment of claims, not knowing enough about the scheme, and unfair way of measuring crop yields. Since Sitamarhi district in Bihar is often hit by floods and has unpredictable weather, it's important to check how well the PMFBY scheme works in practice and how it affects farmers there. This study will look into the background of farmers in Sitamarhi, find out how much they know about the scheme and how satisfied they are, see how they think the scheme helps them deal with farming risks, identify the main problems they face, and suggest ways to improve the scheme's results.

They were divided into groups based on how much land they owned: marginal (up to 1 hectare), small (1 to 2 hectares), semi-medium (2 to 4 hectares), medium (4 to 10 hectares), and large (more than 10 hectares). This helped to understand how farmers with different land sizes experience the PMFBY program. The main data was collected through interviews and questionnaires that looked at farmers' background, how much they know about PMFBY, their experience with making claims, how satisfied they are, and what problems they face. Additional information came from records at agricultural offices, policy papers, and earlier research. To analyze the data, we used descriptive statistics, a Likert scale to measure satisfaction, and cross-tabulations based on land size to find patterns.

Results and Discussion

Socio-Economic Profile

Most of the people surveyed (49%) were between 30 and 50 years old, 32% were under 30, and 19% were over 50, showing that the main group of farmers is middle-aged. In terms of education, 33% had finished high school, 20% had some intermediate education, and 15% had a college degree or higher. A small group, 5%, could not read or write. When it comes to income, 44% made between Rs. 100,001 and Rs. 150,000 a year, while 28% earned between Rs. 50,001 and Rs. 100,000. Their jobs were different: 38% worked in horticulture, 26% in regular farming, 15% in animal care, and the rest had jobs or ran their own businesses. Most families had between 6 and 8 people (45%), and 63% of them used 2 to 4 family members for farming work.

Impact on Perceived Agricultural Risk

Most farmers, regardless of their size, said they saw a big or medium decrease in the risk of farming because of PMFBY. Larger farmers felt a bit more positive about this. However, a small group, especially the smaller farmers, said the risk actually went up, which might be because they were unhappy or didn't get the results they wanted. Awareness is reasonably high among larger farmers; however, marginal and small farmers show substantial partial awareness, highlighting the need for stronger information dissemination. Overall, 72.5% expressed satisfaction or very high satisfaction with the claims process, though dissatisfaction is more perceptible among smaller landholders, often due to delays or claim complications.

Landholding

Constraints and Farmer Suggestions

The major challenges faced by farmers include:

Conclusion

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna in Purnia district has potential to reduce risks for farmers and offer them support.

This study shows that medium and large farmers generally have good knowledge about the scheme and are satisfied with it. However, small and marginal farmers face challenges like difficulty in getting information, problems with the process, and delays in getting their payments. To help more farmers benefit from the scheme, it's important to improve awareness, make the process easier, use technology better, and handle complaints more effectively. These changes can increase trust and participation in PMFBY. Making these improvements is key to ensuring that all farmers, regardless of their size, can enjoy the benefits of the scheme. This will help create stable incomes for farmers and build stronger, more resilient rural communities in Bihar and similar areas.

References

1. Raju SS, Chand R. Agricultural insurance in India: Problems and prospects. NCAP Policy Paper No. 44. 2008.
2. Chand R, Raju S. Progress and problems in agricultural insurance in India. Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics. 2009;64(2):285-298.
3. Gulati A, Terway P, Hussain S. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): An assessment. ICRIER Working Paper No. 352. 2017.
4. Meena RL, Singh M. Awareness level of PMFBY among farmers in Rajasthan. Indian Journal of Extension Education. 2020;56(2):52-60.
5. Mishra S, Mohanty A. Claim settlement and farmer satisfaction under PMFBY. Journal of Insurance and Risk Studies. 2019;11(2):37-49.
6. Ghosh M, Datta R. Role of panchayat governance in PMFBY implementation in Eastern India. Journal of Grassroots Development and Policy. 2020;9(1):47-59.
7. Jain V, Bhosale N. Effectiveness of feedback mechanisms in PMFBY and their influence on farmer satisfaction. Indian Journal of Public Insurance Policy. 2020;11(2):101-113.
8. Mehta D, Suresh P. Impact of PMFBY on credit availability and financial empowerment in Rajasthan. Agricultural Finance and Policy Journal. 2021;8(2):8997.
9. Mukherjee T, Jain S. Technological integration in PMFBY: A study from Maharashtra. Journal of AgriTech and Rural Innovation. 2021;12(1):64-75.
10. Rana P, Sinha A. Gender dimensions of satisfaction under PMFBY in Jharkhand. Journal of Gender and Agricultural Studies. 2022;7(2):36-49.