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Worm-hit farmers to get compensation today
Farmers affected by the Fall Army (Sena) worm will be given compensation today under a programme being launched in the Ampara district.
“Rs 250 million has been allocated to provide compensation” Agriculture Insurance Board Director General Panduka Weerasinghe said.
Farmers were instructed by the Agriculture Department to burn down the affected plants at the first sight of the worm. However, some farmers had refrained from doing so and subsequently lost their crops due to the spread of the worm.
Some 337 farmers will be compensated today. The compensation had been calculated based on an assessment done by Agriculture Department officers who had visited the maize and paddy fields and a subsequent assessment carried out by the Agriculture Insurance Board with the assistance of Grama Niladharis.
In Anuradhapura, the second worst affected area after Ampara, farmers will receive compensation on Thursday, the Director General said.
He also said that at present a re-assessment process was underway in Monaragala, which was also one of the worst affected areas. The process is expected to be concluded by March 21.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Department’s Deputy Director Anura Wijetunga said the Department’s 7,100 pest control committees — set up in several areas to control the damage caused by the Sena worm — had reported that the situation had been brought under control for the time being.
However, he cautioned that the worm might surface again if crops such as maize were cultivated in fresh batches.