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The proposal seeks an examination of the feasibility of piloting the wild animal attack add-on cover in Karnataka from the kharif 2026 season, in line with the revised framework approved by the Union govt in Nov 2025. Because crop damage is often highly localised, affecting a single farmer or small group while neighbouring fields remain unaffected, the proposal says such assessment could better compensate affected farmers. Because of droughts, floods, erratic rainfall, climate change and extreme weather events, kulkarni said farmers were already facing severe challenges.
Repeated crop depredation by elephants, wild pigs and other animals places an additional financial burden on farmers dealing with these uncertainties, he said. Belagavi : Wildlife conservationist Giridhar Kulkarni has submitted a proposal to the Karnataka forest department seeking insurance coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for farmers whose crops are damaged by wild animals. Submitted to Kumar Pushkar, IFS, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden, Karnataka, it asks the department to coordinate with the agriculture department and other concerned authorities and submit an appropriate proposal to the state govt for consideration. Crop losses caused by wild animals could then be notified for individual farm-level assessment.
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The proposal says PMFBY insurance should supplement, not replace, reduce or otherwise affect existing forest department crop-damage compensation. Under the mechanism, the state govt could identify wild animals, crops and vulnerable districts or insurance units based on historical data. The proposal recommends examining a pilot in suitable national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserve landscapes and adjoining areas with a high incidence of human-wildlife conflict, as well as high-conflict areas outside protected areas identified through historical crop-damage data. It also suggests identifying vulnerable areas, affected crops and wild animals responsible for significant damage, obtaining insurance premium quotations and assessing financial and administrative feasibility. Premium costs could be examined, subject to applicable rules, through Tiger Conservation Foundations, human-wildlife conflict mitigation programmes, wildlife mitigation plans and other eligible sources. Where legally permissible, NGO and corporate social responsibility (CSR) partnerships could also be explored. Download the TOI App.