According to the Agriculture and Agrarian Insurance Board, two billion rupees will be spent on crops damaged due to heavy rains in the 2023-24 Maha season.
Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera, the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industry, states that currently one billion rupees has been received for crop damage compensation and another billion rupees will be requested from the government.
In the 2023/24 Maha season, the highest damage due to heavy rains is reported from Ampara district and it is estimated that at least 800 million rupees will be spent to compensate crop damage in Ampara district.
In the last Maha season, the amount of cultivated land damaged has exceeded 100,000 acres.
Also, in the 2024 yala season, many crop losses have been reported due to rain. According to the current information, 15,713 acres have been damaged due to rain. The cost of compensation for this has not yet been calculated.
However, the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industry, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera, who expressed his opinion in this regard, stated that the government spends a lot of money for agricultural welfare and that crop damage due to climate change has increased greatly in the last few years.
The Minister mentioned that the compensation given to farmers by the government as compensation for crop damage at a time when the country is facing an economic crisis is not the money charged from them at all, and that compensation is given free of charge.
A discussion related to crop damage was held yesterday afternoon (25) at the Ministry of Agriculture and Plantation Industries under the chairmanship of the Minister.
