Crop insurance registration goes off track; States including Kerala urge deadline extension

Vadakkencherry: The recent move making AgriStack registration mandatory for availing weather-based crop insurance has caused major difficulties for farmers. The new requirement comes on the heels of delays in the insurance registration process, which was already affected by technical issues in the online system.

So far, only 5,000 farmers in Kerala have registered for crop insurance this season, compared to 93,285 during the same period last year. Registration was originally scheduled to begin on June 1 and end on June 30, but it only commenced on July 5 and is set to close on July 15.

With just 10 days available, farmers are now expected to first register on AgriStack and then complete the crop insurance registration—a process many deem practically unfeasible.

Despite requests from several states, including Kerala, for flexibility in the requirement, the Central government has maintained its position. In response, the states have urged the Centre to extend the deadline for weather-based crop insurance registration, but no decision has been announced yet.

AgriStack registration is part of an effort to create a centralised database of farmers across the country, with each farmer being assigned a unique identification number. While banks are enrolling loan-taking farmers into the scheme, cooperative banks—which most farmers rely on—are facing technical hurdles that are delaying the process.