Crop Insurance in India and Its Impact on Crop Income: Insights from Pigeon Pea Farmers

PMFBY is a highly subsidized and largest crop insurance scheme in the world.The study has examined the efficacy of insurance policies in India based on the secondary data collected from 2016-17 to 2022-23.Additionally, it uses primary data collected during Kharif 2022 across the Bidar district of Karnataka to assess the impact of PMFBY on input cost and income of pigeon pea farmers.The results revealed that the number of farmers enrollment is increasing whereas the insured area is decreasing every year across India under the insurance schemes.The ANOVA results revealed that the insured farmers significantly benefited under the scheme since they received higher claim amount than the premium paid by them during the reference period.Further, it was found that PMFBY positively impacts seed cost, weeding cost, pesticide cost, and land preparation cost.However, the impact on crop revenue and income is statistically insignificant.