Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday (29) acknowledged that the sum of funds allocated to pay compensation for farmers whose crops were affected by adverse weather was not sufficient.
The Government had earlier decided to provide compensation of Rs. 100,000 per hectare for crop damage caused by various factors including adverse weather conditions during the Yala cultivating season this year.
Speaking to the media, Minister Amaraweera said that the Government would take steps to provide farmers – whose cultivations had been damaged due to various factors, including drought and heavy rain – within this year itself. He said that the matter would be considered as urgent, as many farmers did not even have means to commence their cultivation during the Maha season.
"Arrangements have been made to provide a compensation sum of Rs. 100,000 per hectare of crop damage, in accordance with Cabinet approval. Although this decision was taken considering the prevailing economic climate, I am aware that this sum is not enough for farmers," said Amaraweera.
Speaking further, he said that it had taken nearly one year to pay compensation for crop damage in previous years, as it was needed to ensure the accuracy of relevant information. "The compensation related to the Maha season of 2022 is currently being paid. The Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board (AAIB) has currently paid Rs. 400 million as compensation to crop damage caused in that season," he added.
While damage caused to six types of crops including paddy, maize, chilli, potato, big onion, and soybean would be compensated, the Agriculture Ministry recently stated that there was no possibility of compensating damage caused to crops such as cinnamon, rubber, tea, pepper, and coconut as they do not come under its purview. The Ministry had also decided not to compensate farmers who did not commence their cultivation on the dates that had been decided during the relevant seasonal meetings, and then experienced crop damage due to adverse weather conditions.