Insured against heat
Down To Earth|July 01, 2024
States and private firms are implementing insurance schemes fo protect livestock rearers against milk production losses caused by heat stress
SHAGUN AND KA SHAJI
Insured against heat

On the evening of April 29, T Subaida from Adikattukulangara village village in Kerala's Alappuzha district discovered her only Jersey cow dead in its shed. Initially suspecting poisoning from grazing on nearby vacant land, a post-mortem revealed the cow had succumbed to heat stroke.

The loss had a huge financial impact on Subaida, who relied on selling milk to sustain her household during non-farm seasons.

In contrast, livestock farmer Mali Ram Sharma from Ghinoi village in Jaipur, Rajasthan, feels more secure despite the unusually hot April and May. "For the first time, I have taken out insurance this year, which promises fixed compensation if the milk production of my livestock dips due to high temperatures," says Sharma. Noticing a steady decline in milk yield during the peak summer months over the past five years, Sharma decided on insurance. "A cow in my village usually produces 20 litres of milk a day.

In the current heat, the yield has dropped to just 16 litres," he says, adding that his insurer, a private Patna-based agritech company called DeHaat, which started cattle insurance for the first time this April, will calculate the compensation amount in mid-July.

India is experiencing intense heat stress this year, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reporting heatwaves in 14 states and Union Territories in April, and in 24 in May. Unusual temperatures have become a recurring problem for the country, which has recorded 12 of its warmest years since 1901 in the past 15 years.

Denne historien er fra July 01, 2024-utgaven av Down To Earth.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July 01, 2024-utgaven av Down To Earth.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA DOWN TO EARTHSe alt
The Golden 100 Days
Down To Earth

The Golden 100 Days

India prepares battle blueprint for the next pandemic

time-read
4 mins  |
October 16, 2024
CULINARY MASTERPIECE
Down To Earth

CULINARY MASTERPIECE

The sour culinary melon from southern India remains underutilised despite nutritional benefits and a potential to provide food security

time-read
3 mins  |
October 16, 2024
Over to panchayats
Down To Earth

Over to panchayats

Can the government's move to align panchayat targets with UN's Sustainable Development Goals help India meet the global deadline?

time-read
4 mins  |
October 16, 2024
Genetic rescue
Down To Earth

Genetic rescue

Odisha to introduce two female tigers to Similipal forests to improve genetic diversity of its melanistic tiger population

time-read
4 mins  |
October 16, 2024
Standing up for period rights
Down To Earth

Standing up for period rights

Women of Maharashtra's Madia tribe take steps to root out superstitions about menstruation, end the practice of living in isolation

time-read
2 mins  |
October 16, 2024
PUT THE PATIENT FIRST
Down To Earth

PUT THE PATIENT FIRST

Draft guidelines on passive euthanasia exclude the interests of terminally ill patients: A letter to the Union health minister

time-read
5 mins  |
October 16, 2024
Dead end
Down To Earth

Dead end

West Bengal moves to discontinue Kolkata’s trams despite calls to revive the city’s oldest and cleanest mode of transport

time-read
10 mins  |
October 16, 2024
A river lost
Down To Earth

A river lost

Unchecked discharge of industrial effluents and inadequate sewage treatment facilities have turned the Hindon water toxic. ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY tracks the river's journey though seven Uttar Pradesh districts, starting from its origin in Saharanpur

time-read
9 mins  |
October 16, 2024
RECKLESS DISREGARD
Down To Earth

RECKLESS DISREGARD

India is set to expand seaweed cultivation along its coastline by promoting Kappaphycus alvarezii, a known invasive species that has smothered coral reefs in the Gulf of Mannar over the past two decades. Should the country instead focus on its native species?

time-read
10+ mins  |
October 16, 2024
Joining The Carbon Club
Down To Earth

Joining The Carbon Club

India's carbon market will soon be a reality, but will it fulfil its aim of reducing emissions? A report by PARTH KUMAR and MANAS AGRAWAL

time-read
7 mins  |
September 16, 2024