Chandigarh, August 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Senior Congress leader, MP and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Monday accused the Narendra Modi government of losing the confidence of farmers, citing a decline in participation in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and a sharp fall in cotton cultivation across northern India.
Randhawa said 7.3 million farmers, or 29.6 per cent, had opted out of the crop insurance scheme over the past two years, while cotton acreage in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan had declined by around 6.77 lakh acres within a year.
He said the figures reflected growing dissatisfaction with the Centre’s agricultural policies.
“When millions of farmers are leaving the crop insurance scheme and farmers growing the ‘white gold’ are being forced to abandon cotton cultivation, the Central government must answer why its so-called farmer-friendly policies are failing to deliver benefits to farmers,” Randhawa said.
He identified the method of assessing crop losses as a major weakness in PMFBY. According to him, losses are suffered at the individual field level, while compensation is often determined on the basis of average yield across a larger area.
He said this could leave a farmer without adequate compensation even when hailstorms, floods or pest attacks completely destroy a crop on his field but the average damage recorded for the wider area remains comparatively low.
Randhawa also alleged that delays in crop surveys and re-surveys, coupled with lengthy procedures for processing claims, had added to farmers’ difficulties. He said premiums were collected promptly, but farmers often faced cumbersome paperwork and repeated visits to authorities while seeking compensation.
He said cotton cultivation faced a particularly serious crisis, with acreage declining by about 6.77 lakh acres across Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in a year, Punjab witnessing the biggest setback.
Persistent pest attacks, increasing input costs, lower yields and market volatility, he said, had made cotton cultivation increasingly uncertain for farmers.
Randhawa demanded that the Centre replace area-based average-yield assessment with field-level assessment of actual crop losses. He also sought full compensation for complete crop damage, effective government procurement and a stronger market mechanism for cotton growers.
He further called for a concrete policy aimed at ensuring farmers’ incomes and providing greater security against crop losses and market uncertainty.
FOLLOW NOW
