Mumbai: Maharashtra will have a separate agriculture budget from next year, the state government on Wednesday said.
Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil made the announcement in the Legislative Assembly. He also said that state was considering roping in the Centre as well as the beneficiary farmers to share the premium payments for crop insurance.
"Insurance companies are not inclined to associate themselves with the scheme," Vikhe-Patil said, replying to budgetary demands of his department.
"Farmers should get at least 60 per cent of the damages, from the insurance," he said. If the state was to implement the scheme on its own, it will put a burden of Rs 5,000 crore on the exchequer.
He also said that cluster approach will be adopted to increase the farm output. "Clusters of 500 hectares would be taken up to increase the production," he said.
The minister also said that consultants have been appointed for setting up automatic weather stations on PPP model, which would benefit nine lakh farmers, as they will get weather updates on their mobiles.
The setting up process would be over within a year.
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