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Fertiliser crisis: Maha season farmers’ long wait to get compensation
View(s):The Government is still undecided on a compensation package for farmers who suffered crop losses during the current Maha season due to the fertiliser crisis, while the affected farmers are demanding that they be paid at the rate of Rs. 100,000 an acre.
Farmers are experiencing heavy crop losses and many had left their farmlands. (file pic)
However, Agriculture Insurance Board General Manager Panduka Weerasinghe said Rs. 1.28 billion had been set aside to pay compensation to paddy, maize, soybeans, chili, big onions and potato farmers whose crops were damaged during the last Maha Season which lasted from the latter part of 2020 to the first few months of 2021.
He said a programme to pay compensation for farmers who suffered crop damage during the last Maha season began last week in the Eastern Province districts of Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee.
But when asked about the compensation for farmers who suffered losses during the current Maha season due to the fertiliser crisis, the official said no decision had been taken yet.
“The harvesting process has not been completed yet. We’ll be able to decide the compensation only after assessing their yield,” he said. “After completing the process with regard to the 2020-2021 Maha season, we will work out the compensation with regard to crop damage during the 2021 Yala season. Only after that will we be able to assess paying compensation for the current 2021-2022 Maha season.”
However, All-Island Farmers’ Federation national organiser Namal Karunaratne said that to pay compensation for the loss farmers suffered due to the shift from chemical fertiliser to organic fertiliser, the Government was using an insurance scheme introduced in 2017.
“This insurance policy was introduced by the previous Government to pay compensation in the event of crop damage due to natural disasters. The fertiliser issue is a man-made disaster and the current administration is attempting to give compensation utilising this scheme. This is not a new initiative,” he said.
Mr. Karunaratne said the affected farmers were demanding that they be paid compensation at the rate of Rs. 100,000 an acre because they had suffered extensive crop damage during the Maha season due to the lack of fertiliser.
“The Government through its poor decision-making deliberately ruined the farmlands,” he said.
The amount of compensation should be worked out taking into consideration the sharp rise in production cost due to the scarcity-driven high prices of fertiliser and the oil price increase, insisted Mr. Karunaratne.
He also claimed that the Government was focusing on paying compensation only to paddy farmers, while ignoring vegetable growers and other farmers.
He was referring to an announcement the Government made in January that it would pay an additional Rs. 25 for every kilogram of paddy it bought from farmers who suffered losses during the current Maha season. Addressing a media conference, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said Rs. 40 billion had been set aside to pay relief to paddy farmers who had suffered losses due to the shift to organic fertiliser.
“The Government has not considered paying compensation to farmers who have produced crops other than paddy. When asked, the minister said the fertiliser needed for other crops such as maize and vegetables could be bought in the market,” said Mr. Karunaratne.
In Welimada and Hambantota, most vegetable growers claimed that they had been left out of the compensation scheme.
Though it is time for harvest, the drop in the yield is as much as 40-50 percent, according to paddy and vegetable farmer A. Ratnayake.
He said farmers are experiencing heavy crop losses and nearly sixty percent of farmers had left their farmlands. “We are urging the Government to pay us compensation at the rate of Rs. 100,000 an acre,” he said.
Hambantota is known for large-scale vegetable cultivation. Egg plants, maize, chili, okra and pumpkin are grown in this area.
But this time due to various issues, there has been a significant decline in vegetable farming, Mr. Ratnayake said.
“Not only fertiliser, but also vegetable seeds were hard to come by in the market. Other nutrients and pesticides were also not delivered on time,” he said.
He added that Muriate of Potash (MOP) – also known as potassium chloride and potash fertiliser – was made available to farmers only a week ago, long after the time for its application had lapsed.
A small number of vegetable farmers are still trying to cultivate their farmlands using some chemical fertiliser they had stocked up, said a vegetable farmer from Kekirawa.
He said he was not aware of any compensation scheme for vegetable farmers who suffered losses due to lack of fertiliser.
The farmer accused the Government of conducting experiments and using farmers as lab rats to implement its ill-conceived organic-fertiliser-only policy.
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