Compensation programme for sena affected farmers to begin in Ampara : Minister P. Harrison

A programme to compensate farmers whose crops were affected by the sena caterpillar will be launched on Sunday (March 10)  from Ampara, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Economic Affairs P. Harrison said.

The Sena caterpillar was first discovered last October, in a corn field in the Ampara district, and then spread to the Monaragala, Kurunegala, and Anuradhapura districts, as well as to the Galle and Matara districts.

Minister Harrison speaking to Times Online said that at the moment 307 farmers in Ampara alone have been affected. He added that a budget of Rs 16 million has been set aside by the Ministry to pay compensation to the famers.

Farmers whose crop damage exceeds 1 acre will be paid Rs 40,000 while those who have partial or lesser damage will be paid accordingly.    

In addition, Minister Harrison said the Treasury has allocated a budget of Rs 250 million for funds to be utilised in the future to deal with such devastations and any related projects.

(Reporting by Damith Wickramasekara)