Agriculture Minister P. Pulla Rao on Tuesday said that the government would protect the interests of farmers, who had incurred losses due to the untimely rains and hailstorms in the State.
Speaking to The Hindu at the Kuntimaddi village of Kanaganapalli mandal, where he visited extensively damaged paddy fields, the Minister said that farmers who had lost more than 33 per cent of their crop, would get the government benefit.
“The officers are enumerating the losses and gathering details of the affected ryots. Once it is done, the government will compensate the farmers for every acre of crop they have lost,” he promised.
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Informing that the government had decided to reduce the threshold of crop damage from 50 per cent to 33 per cent, he said that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was concerned about the plight of farmers in Anantapur district. He said that farmers cultivating papaya would get Rs. 13,000 per acre, while cultivators of sapota and banana would get Rs. 15,000 per acre.
A group of farmers from Vannedoddi village in Gooty mandal sought to draw the Minister’s attention to their woes. They said that they had cultivated watermelon and the crop would have been ready to harvest in the next 10 days, had the rains not been played spoilsport.
Consoling them, the Minister said that the government would release funds within 40 days of Chief Minister’s return from China.
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Mr. Pulla Rao also visited the N.S. Gate village adjacent to Eerepalli village in Pedda Vadugur mandal of the district to assess the loss incurred by farmers of banana and watermelon .
Papaya farmers will get Rs. 13,000 per acre, while sapota and banana growers will get Rs. 15,000 per acre for crop loss, promises Pulla Rao