Farmer’s Satisfaction towards PMFBY Scheme in Trichy District of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Crop insurance is one of the risk management strategies that can help farmers manage hazards more effectively. The third-largest crop insurance plan, PMFBY (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana), serves as a relief programme for farmers whose crops have been affected by a natural calamity. The aim of the study was to determine the satisfaction level of farmers regarding PMFBY scheme in Trichy district. The research was conducted during the year 2022 by using the “ex-post facto” research design. Three villages from each block of the Thuraiyur and Uppiliyapuram were purposefully chosen for the study based on having a higher percentage of insured farmers. Respondents were selected by proportionate sampling from each village, and the sample size was 120. The data were collected using structured interview schedule and the primary data was analysed using descriptive statistics, cumulative frequency method and chi-square test. The study's findings revealed that most of the insured farmers (65.00%) were middle-aged, 77% male had a middle-school education, owned small amounts of land (60.83%), had a medium level of information (65.78%), had crop loans from cooperative banks (50%) and had medium level of risk orientation and economic motivation. Regarding satisfaction, more than half of the respondents (68.33%) of the insured farmers reported a medium level of satisfaction with the PMFBY scheme. The factors viz., risk orientation, farm size, information sources, educational attainment, and the frequency of disaster occurrence all revealed a positive significant relationship with the satisfaction level of insured farmers at a 5% level of probability. Farmers' satisfaction was found to be modest in the study. As a result, accountable officials must conduct awareness campaigns, educate farmers before to or during crop cutting experiments, make the loss assessment process flexible and straightforward, and distribute claims prior to the start of the following season.