**Executive Summary:**
This document is a response to questions raised in Lok Sabha regarding technical assistance for pest control, specifically concerning the impact of climate change and pests on crops like cotton and Moong. It clarifies the government's existing initiatives, including climate resilience research, disaster relief funds, and crop insurance schemes like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), to support farmers. The response also highlights ongoing projects for managing specific pests like the pink bollworm. Data provided covers the period of 2020-21 to 2024-25 and the claims paid out under the PMFBY scheme.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **Impact of Climate Change and Pests:**
* No specific data indicates a 33% or greater increase in pest infestation or disease incidence in cotton and Moong due to climate change, heat, heatwaves, or locusts.
* The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is implementing the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project to study the impact of climate change on agriculture and promote climate-resilient technologies.
* NICRA is addressing disease incidence by developing a database on insect pests, diseases, and weather for important crops across 12 agroclimatic zones.
* **Disaster Relief and Crop Insurance:**
* Financial assistance is available under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for notified natural calamities.
* The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) aim to mitigate crop loss risks due to natural calamities and adverse weather.
* PMFBY provides comprehensive risk insurance from pre-sowing to post-harvest losses.
* From 2020-21 to 2024-25, farmers' share in premiums totaled ₹18,175.0 crore, with claims paid at ₹86,755.8 crore, benefiting 14,63,73,629 farmer applications.
* **Pest Control Measures:**
* The "Dissemination of Pink Bollworm Management Strategies" project, implemented by ICAR-CICR, Nagpur, since 2018-19 under the National Food Security and Nutrition Mission (NFSNM), aims to combat pink bollworm infestation in cotton.
* ICAR-CICR has developed pheromone traps to reduce pest levels in infested areas.
**Impact Analysis:**
**Farmers:**
* *Impact:* Farmers benefit from climate resilience research, financial assistance during natural calamities through SDRF/NDRF, and crop insurance schemes like PMFBY to protect against crop losses. They also benefit from specific pest management programs.
* *Action Required:* Farmers should familiarize themselves with and enroll in PMFBY and RWBCIS to secure their crops against unforeseen natural calamities and adverse weather conditions. They should also implement integrated Pink Bollworm management strategies.
**State Governments:**
* *Impact:* State Governments are responsible for providing relief to farmers affected by natural calamities as per SDRF/NDRF norms.
* *Action Required:* State governments should adhere to the guidelines for providing relief to farmers under SDRF/NDRF and promote awareness about PMFBY and RWBCIS.
**Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR):**
* *Impact:* ICAR is responsible for conducting research on climate change impacts on agriculture and developing climate-resilient technologies.
* *Action Required:* ICAR should continue implementing and refining NICRA, developing databases on pests and diseases, and disseminating information on climate-resilient agricultural practices.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare: The Indian government ministry responsible for agriculture and farmers' welfare.
Shri Kuldeep Indora: A member of Lok Sabha who raised a question regarding technical assistance for pest control.
Shri Ramnath Thakur: The Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare who provided the answer to the question.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research ICAR: An autonomous organisation responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India.
National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture NICRA: A project implemented by ICAR that studies the impact of climate change on agriculture and develops climate-resilient technologies.
State Disaster Response Fund SDRF: A fund available to state governments in India for disaster relief.
National Disaster Response Fund NDRF: A fund managed by the Central Government of India for disaster relief.
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana PMFBY: An Indian government crop insurance scheme to provide financial assistance to farmers suffering crop loss or damage.
O.I.H.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4270
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 19TH AUGUST, 2025
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PEST CONTROL
4270. SHRI KULDEEP INDORA:
Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ(cid:874)ष एवं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण म(cid:287)ं ी
be pleased to state:
(a) whether due to disasters like climate change, heat, heatwave and locusts, the
infestation of pests and incidence of diseases in crops like cotton and Moong have
increased to 33% or more causing huge economic loss to the farmers;
(b) if so, whether the Government is formulating any scheme to give compensation to
the farmers under disaster relief assistance in such cases as per SMFR norms;
(c) whether the Central Government has fixed any guidelines in this regard so that the
State Government becomes bound to provide relief to the farmers;
(d) whether the Government is providing any special scheme or technical assistance for
the control of pests like pink bollworm; and
(e) whether the Government is contemplating to provide compensation and relief
assistance to the farmers by declaring such affected areas as notified disaster areas?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
कृ(cid:874)ष एवं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण रा(cid:207)य मं(cid:287)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)
(a) to (e): There is no specific data indicating that due to disasters like climate change,
heat, heatwave and locusts, the infestation of pests and incidence of diseases in crops like
cotton and Moong have increased to 33% or more causing huge economic loss to the
farmers. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is implementing a project namely
National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) that studies the impact of
climate change on agriculture including crops, livestock, horticulture and fisheries. It also
develops and promotes climate resilient technologies which helps the regions prone toextreme weather conditions like droughts, floods, frost, heat waves, etc. to cope with such
extremes. Incidence of diseases in crops in relation to climate change under field conditions
are being addressed through database development on insect pests, diseases and weather
for important crops across 12 agro-climatic zones under NICRA.
The financial assistance under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)/National
Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) is provided in the wake of notified natural calamities.
Additionally for risk mitigation for crop loss due to various reasons government is
implementing Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to protect the farmers from
climate hazards, Government has introduced flagship yield based Pradhan Mantri Fasal
Bima Yojana (PMFBY) along with weather index based Restructured Weather Based Crop
Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) from Kharif 2016. The scheme aims to support sustainable
production in the agriculture sector by providing financial assistance to farmers suffering
crop loss or damage due to unforeseen natural calamities and adverse weather conditions.
It seeks to stabilize farmers' incomes and ensure their continued participation in farming.
Comprehensive risk insurance is provided to farmers under the scheme against
unavoidable natural calamities such as drought, dry spells, floods, hailstorms, inundation,
etc., covering the entire crop cycle from pre-sowing to post-harvest losses. As of 30th June
2025, during the period from 2020–21 to 2024–25, the total farmers’ share in premiums
amounted to ₹18,175.0 crore. Claims paid stood at ₹86,755.8 crore, benefitting
14,63,73,629 farmer applications. In addition, the project "Dissemination of Pink Bollworm
Management Strategies" has been implemented by ICAR-CICR, Nagpur since 2018–19
under the National Food Security and Nutrition Mission (NFSNM) (formerly NFSM). The
objective of the project is to disseminate integrated Pink Bollworm management strategies
during different growth stages of the cotton crop, to effectively combat Pink Bollworm
infestation in cotton.
Additionally ICAR- Central Institute for Cotton Research (ICAR-CICR) has developed
pheromone traps for reducing pest levels, where infested.
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