Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh has suffered crop loss in about 1.02 lakh acres worth nearly Rs 100 crore under the impact of recent cyclonic storm, Gulab, as per official projections.
Preliminary reports indicated several agriculture crops like paddy, cotton, blackgram, groundnut, maize, sugarcane, tobacco, green gram, ragi etc suffered inundation in about 1.82 lakh acres area in six districts —Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna.
Horticulture crops like banana, coconut, chilli, cashew, papaya, turmeric and vegetables suffered damage above 33 per cent in nearly 6,629.81 acres area in five districts — Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakahapatnm, Krishna and Kadapa.
However, with no major rainfall and rise in day temperatures in the last few days, water from the inundated agriculture fields has started receding; giving relief to the farmers to save some crops and take up fresh cultivation in areas where crops have withered.
Meanwhile, the agriculture and horticulture authorities have started enumeration of damaged or lost crops by deploying teams in the affected districts. It may take several days to get a comprehensive report as regards the extent of crop loss and the loss of income to the state government.
Based on an assessment, the officials say crops in about 1.02 lakh acres might have suffered loss, causing a production loss ranging from Rs 70 crore to Rs 100 crore.
The horticulture authorities have come up with an assessment on crop damage or loss by saying that several crops in about 8,537 acres suffered 33 per cent damage affecting 7,692 farmers. They estimated a total input subsidy of Rs 691.35 lakh on this count.
Horticulture additional director Balaji Naik said, “Our officials are taking up enumeration of crop damage or loss in all affected districts and we will give input subsidy to the affected farmers – meaning those who suffered more than 33 per cent damage to their crops, and as per norms, to enable them take up cultivation again.”
Agriculture officials are taking up enumeration of crop damage or loss and registering such details on e-Panta app to avoid any deviations and ensure all the affected farmers got financial relief in the form of input subsidy.
A senior agriculture official said, “Once we get all data on crop damage or loss due to Gulab from the affected districts, we will prepare a comprehensive report and submit it to the AP state Disaster Response Fund which will, in turn, get financial support from the NDRF and release it to farmers in the form of input subsidy.”
