The Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board says compensation amounting to Rs. 12.34 billion has been paid to 202,025 farmers whose crops were damaged by Cyclone Ditwah last year.
The compensation program was introduced to assist cultivators affected by the cyclone, which struck the country in November last year. The Board stated that payments to eligible farmers across the island are now being finalised.
According to the Board, the Department of Agrarian Development has disbursed Rs. 8.89 billion to 116,278 paddy farmers whose crops on approximately 148,000 acres were damaged.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture has provided Rs. 3.45 billion in compensation to 85,747 farmers cultivating maize, vegetables and other field crops in Mahaweli, provincial and inter-provincial areas.
Under the compensation scheme, paddy farmers received Rs. 150,000, while growers of maize, vegetables and other field crops were granted Rs. 200,000.
The government stated that despite the country’s ongoing economic challenges, the large-scale compensation program was successfully implemented through prudent economic management and fiscal policies.
