• Cinnamon, rubber, tea, pepper, coconut to not receive Agri Min. compensation 

More than 50,000 farmers whose crops have been damaged due to the drought are to receive the relevant compensation sums before the commencement of the Maha cultivating season, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

According to the Ministry, a total of 59,073 acres of paddy and other crop cultivations belonging to 54,152 farmers islandwide have been destroyed due to the drought. The highest extent of crop damage, 26,195 acres belonging to 31,427 farmers, is from the Kurunegala District, while the second highest damage, 14,667 acres belonging to 5,867 farmers, is from the Udawalawe zone.

While damage caused to six types of crops including paddy, maize, chillie, potato, big onion and soybean will be compensated by the Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board (AAIB), the Ministry stated that there was no possibility of compensating the damage caused to crops such as cinnamon, rubber, tea, pepper and coconut as they do not come under the purview of the Ministry.

Subject Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has also said that the complete report pertaining to crop damage due to the drought would be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers as soon as the relevant assessments are concluded, following which the Government would take steps to pay compensation to farmers before the Maha season commences.

He has also directed officials of the Departments of Agriculture and Agrarian Development to inform the farmers to commence farming activities before the onset of the North East monsoon in the coming Maha such as cleaning of the canals, the clearing of ditches, as well as land processing with the use of the convective rains that fall before the monsoon. The directive has been issued to officials considering the possibility of heavy rainfall in the Maha season, especially in the months of October and November, and the dry weather that may prevail again from January of next year (2024).