The Agriculture and Agrarian Insurance Board says that all the money required for crop damage compensation in the Walawa region and Hambantota district has been allocated by now, and by the end of this month, compensation money will be awarded to all farmers in the disreict where crop damage has occurred.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Plantation Industries has now started awarding compensation for crop damage caused by the severe drought in the 2023 yala season. Accordingly, the Agriculture and Agrarian Insurance Board states that the amount spent for crop damage compensation is 550 million rupees.
According to the estimates made regarding crop damage in the yala season, about 65,000 acres were damaged due to the drought and 11,000 acres were damaged due to the floods caused by the rains that followed. An opportunity to award compensation to the farmers of the Walawa region took place in Agunakolapalla. There, 200 farmers in Walava region were awarded compensation.
The Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industry, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera, who expressed his opinion, said that this is the first time that compensation money has been given to farmers within a minimum period of time.
“Usually it takes about a year to provide crop damage compensation. If crops are damaged this year, compensation will be received next year. But President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as the Minister of Finance, gave all his support to the proposal that I put forward that compensation should be given urgently for the crop damage that occurred in the last yala season.
He gave us the necessary financial provisions to pay these compensations without delay. We know that the economic situation in the country was not good in the last year. But this time we have already paid 550 million rupees as crop damage compensation. Also, before the end of this year, the Agriculture and Farmers Insurance Board informed me that they will take steps to compensate all the farmers who suffered crop damage. The Treasury has agreed to provide the necessary financial allocations for that.”
Therefore, the minister also mentioned that steps will be taken to provide the highest amount of compensation paid so far for crop damage in history.
– Media Unit