Pest Menace: Farmers, including sharecroppers, to get compensation

Bhubaneswar: Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi today issued guidelines to all the district collectors on allocation of compensation for crop loss due to pest attack.

The agriculture input subsidy will be provided to actual farmers, including share croppers and lessees.  Farmers allotted land under the Forest Rights Act will also be provided the subsidy. However, the crops cultivated on encroached government land will not be provided compensation, stated the guidelines.

The farmers will be identified through on the spot investigation and the input subsidy will be transferred to their bank or postal accounts, it added.

Cooperation minister Surya Narayan Patro also informed that sharecroppers will be provided with compensation and they can avail loans from cooperative banks. He informed that loan will be provided if more than five sharecroppers form a group and apply for the same.

Patro further informed that the State government had brought amendment in the relief code to provide compensation to the farmers. Actual farmers will be provided compensation for crop loss due to drought and pest attack, he said.

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"If lessees and share croppers form a group for cultivation purpose they will also be provided loan, as they will be jointly liable for it. Actual farmers are the ones who have invested on the cultivation of a crop in any way and will be affected by crop loss. Insurance companies will only provide compensation to the land owner but the input subsidy provided by government under the relief code will be given to the actual cultivators. It has been amended in the year 2015 in Orissa Relief Code," said Patro.