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Crop losses: The long wait for compensation 

26 Feb 2022

  • Organic fertiliser-related crop loss to be estimated only in March
  • Govt. crop loss calculation process needs to be transparent: ACFF
  • Farmer TUs stand their ground on Rs. 100,000 per acre compensation demand
  • Yala season is worse off: ACFF
By Maneesha Dullewe The Government’s plan of providing Rs 1.28 billion as compensation to farmers over seasonal crop losses for the 2020/2021 period is still underway and will be completed in the upcoming week, The Sunday Morning learns.  Agrarian Insurance Board General Manager Panduka Weerasinghe said Rs. 1.28 billion has been set aside for compensation purposes for the 2020/2021 Maha season. “Apart from sections of Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara Districts, compensation for all other areas have been completed by now. Remaining compensation payments for Batticaloa and Ampara are scheduled to be completed on the upcoming 28 February and 1 March." When asked about compensation for farmers who suffered crop losses due to the fertiliser crisis of the ongoing season, Weerasinghe said: “The compensation for organic fertiliser-induced crop losses is yet to be paid, since the season has not ended yet. We cannot estimate any crop losses until the harvesting season is over. It is only after March this year that we can decide if there has been any damage. The current compensation is for the Maha season that ended in March 2021. The organic fertiliser crop damages fall under the Maha season that ends in March 2022.” Weerasinghe further noted that while programmes were in place for providing compensation for the current season losses as well, the exact amount could only be determined once the damages actually took place.    Govt. compensation plans unsatisfactory Meanwhile, All Ceylon Farmers Federation (ACFF) Convenor Namal Karunaratne asserted that the Government’s compensation methodology remained unclear, noting that farmers were demanding unconditional compensation for fertiliser related crop losses, since this damage was man-made, with outcomes stemming from deliberate decisions made by those in power.  Karunaratne further said the existing compensation scheme had been hard-won by farmers in 2017, existing as an insurance policy where farmers were to be paid for crop damages for each acre of farmland.  “This insurance compensation is paid for six crops – rice, maize, soya, potato, big onions, and green chilli. The Government is under obligation to pay Rs. 40,000 per acre for any natural crop damage to these harvests. The present crop damage is not the result of natural causes.” Accordingly, Karunaratne highlighted that the Rs. 40,000 that was to be paid was insufficient, especially given the increased production costs that were presenting an unbearable strain for the farmers. “Therefore, farmers are demanding a compensation of over Rs. 100,000 per acre, instead of the traditional Rs. 40,000,” he explained.  Karunaratne clarified that the Rs. 1.28 billion mentioned by the Agrarian Insurance Department was part of the traditional compensation of Rs. 40,000, and that this compensation had not yet been paid to some farmers.  Karunaratne expressed further dissatisfaction with the limited nature of the compensation scheme, noting that all farmers including paddy, vegetable, fruit, and other cereal farmers suffered an injustice due to the failed policies of the Government.  “While the paddy farmer has only to deal with two cultivation seasons, the vegetable farmer is not limited to a season, and therefore has to suffer. Therefore, these farmers undergo repeated suffering at every harvest. Therefore, all these farmers require a compensation of over Rs. 100,000 for the damages inflicted.”  Earlier this year, the Cabinet of Ministers approved an Rs. 40 billion package to compensate paddy farmers affected by the Government’s ban on agrochemicals last year, following which many farmers experienced a loss of yield and income. This has led to multiple attempts over the ensuing period by the Government to pacify protesting farmers and stabilise food stocks and prices in the market, to varying levels of success. Regardless, the concrete outcomes so far have been a significant increase in domestic prices of rice and protracted troubles for the farming community as the aftershocks of the Government’s halted organic farming drive continue to disrupt the agriculture sector.  Yala season in jeopardy  According to Karunaratne, the Yala season cultivation was uncertain: “Although the Government said that everything was ready for the Yala season, the season has already commenced, so there should be evidence of this preparation. However, there is none. There is no fertiliser, or the available fertiliser is being sold at exorbitant prices. Pesticides, weedicides, and other chemical treatments are scarce. Further, there is a scarcity of seeds due to the dollar shortage, which has also driven up seed prices. This has led to the influx of substandard seeds into the market.” In addition to this host of issues, Karunaratne noted that the Yala season was facing an even weightier issue at present in the form of a water scarcity due to utilising water from tanks for the purposes of power generation. “The water from tanks was emptied to power turbines during the past few days for electricity generation, throwing the Yala season cultivation into uncertainty,” he claimed.  Karunaratne asserted that since none of these issues had been provided a solution, it would lead to unsuccessful Yala and upcoming Maha cultivation seasons.     The Sunday Morning also spoke to a vegetable farmer from Weligama, who asserted that no compensation had been received for crop losses incurred during the Maha season or for fertiliser related issues. He confirmed that cultivation had become a significant issue with the scarcity of fertilisers and agrochemicals. “This season’s harvest is extremely low. As a result of this, there is no way to spend money on necessary purchases including seeds for the next season.”  Expressing a lack of confidence in the upcoming harvest due to the lack of fertilisers and agrochemicals, he said that the farmers had been forced into a state of uncertainty, since they, as vegetable farmers, would not even be receiving the organic fertiliser that was promised.  Govt. stands firm on compensation Meanwhile, speaking to The Sunday Morning last Friday (25), Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage said that compensation programmes were underway. “We presented a methodology to provide compensation to the Cabinet last week. The Finance Ministry asked for a week to go over this. It will be approved on Monday and the compensation will be paid by Tuesday.” The Minister also stated that farmers affected by the fertiliser crisis would receive their due compensation, not as a compensation per se but as an incentive provided by the Ministry of Agriculture. “The Department of Census and Statistics and the Department of Agrarian Development together undertook a survey, and compensation will be provided to farmers suffering from crop losses according to the results of the said survey,” he clarified.   

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