Heavy rains and hailstorm in the past few days have badly damaged fruit crop in Himachal Pradesh, landing farmers in heavy losses.
Recently, temperature in the state dipped by seven to eight degree Celsius impacting the blooming season of crops including peach, plum, apricot, almond, cherry and walnut.
Farmers believe that heavy rains not only impact the harvest but also affect the pollination process. The horticulture department is yet to assess the loss occurred to stone fruit crop that cover about 28 thousand hectare area of the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that his government will increase the compensation provided to affected farmers by 50 percent, as well as bring down the threshold of crop damage that allows farmers to seek government assistance.
Source - http://www.aninews.in/
