Mumbai: Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane on Saturday urged farmers to enrol under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana by July 31 to protect themselves against losses caused by natural calamities and adverse weather.

The revised insurance scheme provides financial protection against crop losses due to natural disasters, unseasonal rain, drought and other adverse conditions, a government release informed.

Under the scheme, farmers will be eligible for insurance compensation if the average yield of a notified crop in a notified revenue circle falls below the threshold yield, it added.

Fourteen Kharif crops have been covered under the scheme, including paddy, jowar, bajra, ragi, moong, urad, tur, maize, groundnut, sesame, soybean, cotton and onion.

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Farmers growing foodgrains, pulses and oilseeds will have to pay a premium of 2 per cent of the sum insured, while those cultivating commercial crops such as cotton and onion will pay 5 per cent, the release said.

Enrolment will remain open till July 31 through National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP), banks, Common Service Centres (CSCs) and online applications.

Farmers must possess an AgriStack registration number, land records, a crop sowing declaration, an Aadhaar-linked bank account and complete a mandatory digital crop survey to avail of the scheme, the release added.

"Climate change has increased risks to agriculture, making crop insurance essential for safeguarding farmers' incomes. All eligible farmers should enrol before the deadline," Bharane said.

The minister warned that farmers submitting false information to claim benefits would be debarred from Agriculture Department schemes for five years.

Farmers must have at least 0.10 hectare under the notified crop to be eligible for the scheme, he added.