Increasing Role of Women in Agriculture: Unveiling Perceived Impact of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) Scheme using Multivariate Regression Approach

Crop Insurance (CI) is one of the most effective tool for managing risks associated with agriculture. In India, agriculture contributes significantly to its economy and according to the government report sector is transiting through a revolution of feminization. Additionally, literature on the agriculture sector reveals that female participation boosts agricultural productivity and food security. The paper examines the perceived impact of CI scheme PMFBY on female farmers across four major states of India, including Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Using a sample size of 455 female farmers and MLR models, along with Pearson correlation and descriptive statistics, we evaluated the perceived impact of the scheme. We introduced ten independent predictors - satisfaction, transparency, increase in agriculture income, knowledge of PMFBY, awareness campaign, overall satisfaction, risk coverage satisfaction, compensation satisfaction, benefits and transparency satisfaction. Our empirical findings indicate that there are positive and negative predictors that impact the perception of the scheme among the female farmers. But, major findings reveal that overall satisfaction, risk coverage and compensation related to the scheme were concerns. The predictors such as satisfaction, transparency, increase in agriculture income, awareness campaign, and potential benefits positively influenced the perception of female farmers. Hence, the paper highlights various policy problems and identifies elements that could be taken into account to enhance the scheme's effectiveness specially among the female farmers.