A government-run insurance company has launched a pilot project to provide crop insurance to small tea growers on Wednesday.

The small tea sector, which contributes around half of India’s total tea production, has been demanding for long that they should be brought under the ambit of the crop insurance scheme.

Altogether, there are nearly three lakh small tea growers across India.

“The Agricultural Insurance Company of India Limited launched crop insurance for the first time today. Initially, the insurance would be provided to growers based in the Jalpaiguri district of Bengal, Golaghat in Assam and Nilgiris in the south. In due course, all growers would be covered under the scheme,” said Bijoygopal Chakraborty, president of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association.

Under the scheme, a grower will have to pay an annual premium of Rs 747 for which he would be entitled to a maximum insurance coverage of Rs 26,667.

“A grower can get compensation if damages are caused to tea bushes in sudden changes in temperature, excessive rainfall and climatic conditions leading to pest attack,” said a source.

Representatives of the insurance company will reach out to villages to enroll small growers under the scheme.

“Initially, we plan to include around 5,000 growers of Jalpaiguri under the scheme. We want to see if it proves effective in case they face problems in inclement weather,” said the Cista president.

He said this year, growers are paying the premium. “But we asked the tea board if from next year the board can give 75 per cent of the premium and the grower the rest,” said Chakraborty.