The Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board will begin paying compensation today (4) to farmers whose crops were damaged by dry weather conditions.

Compensation will be credited directly to the bank accounts of affected farmers in Polonnaruwa District today, while payments in other affected districts are expected to be completed before 15 September.

Paddy, maize and other crops have been damaged in Hambantota, Ampara, Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Monaragala districts.

The Government has allocated around Rs. 3 billion for the compensation programme.

Payments of Rs. 100,000 per hectare will be provided for paddy, maize, big onion, potato, soybean and chilli, subject to a maximum coverage of five acres.