Mr. Kumar said that ready-to-harvest paddy crop was damaged in vast stretches.
“We can minimise the damage if there are no more rains as water will recede in the next few days. But the threat of another cyclone may further mount the burden of losses on the farmers,” he said, explaining that a detailed enumeration of crop loss would be possible only after the rains stopped. Wherever there is more than 30% damage, the farmers would be eligible for input subsidy as per the National or State Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF, SDRF) norms.Mr. Arun Kumar said that 90% of the damaged crop comprised paddy, while black gram and red gram, besides some extent of cotton cultivation, also bore the brunt of Cyclone Nivar.
‘Guntur farmers worst-hit’ “Farmers of Guntur district have taken the biggest hit. They have started sowing late for the kharif and the crop has now come for harvest. They would have gone for harvesting in the next few days,” he said. Now that a major part of the crop got lodged in rainwater, the farmers might have to wait for sunshine for the crop to dry and postpone harvesting till the second week of December, he observed.The farmers, meanwhile, were keeping their fingers crossed, hoping for an end to their distress.
Source - https://www.thehindu.com
