In the 2023 Yala Season, 65,000 acres were damaged in several areas including the Walawa region,
Kurunegala and the Southern Province due to the severe drought that affected the country.
Agriculture and Plantation Industry Minister Mahinda Amaraweera advised the Agricultural and Agricultural Insurance Board to start providing the compensation for these crop losses within two months of the crop losses.
Accordingly, Rs.25 million crop damage compensation was given to the farmers who suffered crop damage due to the drought in Kurunegala District at the Wariyapola Municipal Community Hall on Friday (19).
Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, Livestock State Minister D. B. Herath, Media State Minister Shanta Bandara and others participated in this event.
The paddy cultivation area that was damaged in the last Yala Season is 65,000 acres. According to the assessment of damages, the estimated amount to be paid to 64,000 farmers is Rs. 1000 million. So far, Rs. 562 million has been paid out of the total amount, according to Agriculture and Agrarian Insurance Board Chairman M. M. B. Weerasekera.
The Minister who expressed his opinion said that the compensation was the result of a compensation project that was prepared in 2018 when he was the Agriculture Minister without charging any insurance premium from the farmers for six types of crops.
The Minister also said that accordingly, a compensation of Rs.100,000 per hectare at Rs.40,000 per acre was taken without charge of insurance premium.
But he also mentioned that if all the farmers pay an amount of Rs. 6,400 per season and get the insurance contribution, they can get a compensation of Rs. two and a half lakh per hectare. For that, a farmer has to pay only Rs. 6,400 per acre per season.
Due to the upcoming climate change, the chances of crop damage have increased.
Because of this, the Minister also requested the farmers to take measures to get insurance coverage from the Agricultural and Agricultural Insurance Board for the crops. Also, due to the floods in the high season this year, there has been a lot of damage to the paddy cultivation.
The Minister also mentioned that he instructed the Agricultural and Agricultural Insurance Board to immediately start the assessment of the crop damage.
(dailynews.lk)
