The Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board has announced that crop damage compensation totaling Rs. 12,341.5 million has been paid to 202,025 farmers affected by last year’s Cyclone Ditwah.
The compensation program was launched to support farmers whose agricultural lands were damaged by the cyclone that struck in November last year. Payments are currently being completed for affected cultivators across the country, the Board added.
According to the Board, the Department of Agrarian Development has paid Rs. 8,888.5 million to 116,278 farmers for 148,000 acres of paddy fields that were destroyed.
Meanwhile, compensation payments totaling Rs. 3,453 million have been distributed to 85,747 farmers growing maize, vegetables and other field crops in Mahaweli areas, provinces and inter-provincial regions through the Department of Agriculture.
The compensation scheme provided Rs. 150,000 per hectare for paddy cultivation, while farmers growing maize, vegetables, and other field crops received Rs. 200,000 per hectare.
The government announced that the large-scale compensation payments were made possible despite the country’s ongoing economic challenges due to the implementation of what it described as sound economic policies.
