“The Odisha government has asked the collectors of several districts to assess the crop damage due to unseasonal rains in the state and submit a report at the earliest,” a minister said.
Due to the depression, unseasonal rains in various parts of the state from December 20 to 22 damaged standing crops in many coastal and interior districts.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari while talking to reporters on Sunday (December 22, 2024) said, “Collectors of unseasonal rain-affected districts have been asked to properly assess the crops damaged due to unseasonal rain.” “After the rain subsides, the Regional Revenue Officer will evaluate it,” he said.
The minister assured the affected farmers that the state government would help them with proper compensation for the crop loss and sale of the remaining produce.
An official statement said that many coastal and interior districts like Angul, Balasore, Bhadrak, Buddh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Deogarh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kandhamal, Kendrapada, Keonjhar, Khurd, Koraput, Mayurbhanj, Navrang. , Puri and Rayagada crop remains loss in last two days.
“Around 15 lakh farmers of these districts have been enrolled in the insurance scheme. Farmers who have insured their Kharif crops under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (Kharif – 2024) are required to report their crop destruction to claim insurance compensation. Farmers can upload crop loss information using ‘Agricultural ProtectorThe government says that the app will inform about crop loss within 72 hours or through helpline 14447.
Meanwhile, farmers in Ganjam district demanded relaxation of paddy procurement norms so that they can sell their produce to the government.
“Due to the intermittent rains, the farmers who harvested the crops and stored them in the fields for processing have been affected,” said Simanchal Nahak, secretary of farmers’ organization Rushikulya Rait Mahasabha.
“We fear that their produce may be rejected due to moisture content. We have demanded that the government relax the Fair Average Quality (FAQ) norms for procurement,” said Sameer Pradhan, a farmer from Takarda in Sheragada block.
During the visit of State Commerce and Transport Minister Vibhutibhushan Jena to Rangelunda Block, some farmers have also demanded compensation for the loss of their crops. He has visited different villages and discussed with the farmers.
After the Ganjam district administration started assessing the damage, the purchase of paddy has now stopped. The officials will submit their report to the government within seven days,” said an official.
“Government will take appropriate measures for the affected farmers”, said the minister. “The administration had earlier decided to start procurement of paddy from Monday (December 23, 2024) and now it has been fixed till January 3,” the official said.
Chief District Agriculture Officer RN Panda said that the joint survey conducted by agriculture, horticulture and revenue staff from Sunday (December 22, 2024) has started to get the exact details of the damage. The survey will be completed this month,’ he said.
published – December 23, 2024 at 12:08 pm IST