(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) –The Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage has given an assurance to the farmers that the compensation for the damage caused during the Yala season will be paid by the Maha season and the payments for crop damage will not be delayed any further in the future.
The Minister of Agriculture emphasized this while participating in a program to pay compensation for the crops that were destroyed due to natural causes and wild elephants during the 2020/21 Maha season.
The compensations payments for the farmers in the Eastern Province took place yesterday (08) at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute under the patronage of the Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage.
The Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Director General of the Agriculture and Agrarian Insurance Board and other officials as well as a section of the affected farmers were present on this occasion.
The government has launched a program to compensate for damage to the six crops of paddy, maize, soybeans, black pepper, Big Onions and potatoes due to natural causes and destruction by wild elephants without charging an insurance premium.
Compensation will be paid for a maximum of 5 acres for paddy cultivation and for two and a half acres for other crops.
The payment is made after the farmers report the damage to an Agrarian Development Center of the Department of Agrarian Development. A committee consisting of representatives of the farmers’ organization and government officials assesses the crop damage and calculates and pays compensation.
Compensation for the major districts that have been severely damaged has already been credited to the farmers’ accounts and action will be taken to complete all compensation payments for the 2020/21 Maha season by the end of this week.
It is currently estimated that a sum of Rs. 128 million has been distributed among nearly 40,000 farmers during the 2020/21 Maha season.
Accordingly, in case of total damage, the farmers will be compensated Rs. 40,000 per acre and for partial damage the compensation will be calculated in proportion to the extent of the damage.
