Thiruvananthapuram: Farmers suffer huge losses

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The latest floods and rain have badly affected agriculture and the farmers in the state.  A total area of 27,792 hectares of agriculture land has been damaged hitting  95, 29 farmers. The total loss is estimated at   Rs 1022.43 crore.  The agriculture department and farmers' welfare officials were on a mission to include all the farmers in the state in the crop insurance scheme when the floods struck.

The most affected districts are  Palakkad  and Wayanad. Malappuram district's agriculture loss has been estimated at Rs 7, 405 lakh. The most number of farmers (17, 346) have been affected in Wayanad. A department official  told DC that  several agricultural officers in Malabar region were  living in relief camps.

"Even then, they  worked on a war-footing to take stock of the flood impact. The most affected crops have been bearing and non-bearing banana,  arecanut, paddy (mainfield), and rubber plantations", said an  official.

So far,  only  a crore-worth assistance was released to the displaced farmers. Last Monday, Agriculture Minister V. S. Sunil Kumar had asked  the agricultural officers to ensure that all the farmers get the benefit of crop insurance and Kisan Credit Card.