THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The latest floods and rain have badly affected agriculture and the farmers in the state. A total area of 27,792 hectares of agriculture land has been damaged hitting 95, 29 farmers. The total loss is estimated at Rs 1022.43 crore. The agriculture department and farmers' welfare officials were on a mission to include all the farmers in the state in the crop insurance scheme when the floods struck.
The most affected districts are Palakkad and Wayanad. Malappuram district's agriculture loss has been estimated at Rs 7, 405 lakh. The most number of farmers (17, 346) have been affected in Wayanad. A department official told DC that several agricultural officers in Malabar region were living in relief camps.
"Even then, they worked on a war-footing to take stock of the flood impact. The most affected crops have been bearing and non-bearing banana, arecanut, paddy (mainfield), and rubber plantations", said an official.
So far, only a crore-worth assistance was released to the displaced farmers. Last Monday, Agriculture Minister V. S. Sunil Kumar had asked the agricultural officers to ensure that all the farmers get the benefit of crop insurance and Kisan Credit Card.
