Double whammy for farmers as they lose crop in midst of COVID-19 lockdown

Amaravati,Apr 10 (PTI) It was a double whammy for farmers
in several districts of Andhra Pradesh as untimely rain and
gale storm on Thursday left their agricultural and
horticultural crops in several thousand hectares damaged, if
not destroyed, on top of the misery imposed on them due to the
ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.
Paddy, harvested in some places and ready-to-harvest in
others, was the worst hit while chilli, mango, banana, maize
and other crops too suffered substantial damage in Kadapa,
Kurnool, SPS Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna, West
Godavari, East Godavari and Srikakulam districts.
Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, at his daily review
meeting, directed the authorities concerned on Friday to
enumerate the crop losses immediately and extend necessary
compensation to the distressed farmers.
Preliminary estimates by the agriculture department said
paddy in over 20,000 hectares in many districts was badly hit
by the untimely rain.
Rabi paddy harvesting got delayed in many districts
because of the ongoing lockdown and the produce that was kept
to dry after the harvest got soaked.
In Krishna district alone, paddy crop in over 9,700
hectares was damaged while in neighbouring West Godavari the
damage was spread over 6,600 ha.
In West Godavari and SPS Nellore districts, ready-to-
harvest mango is now almost lost because of the gale storm.
Similarly, banana plantations in Kadapa, Kurnool, Nellore
and West Godavari districts suffered extensive damage as trees
were uprooted.
In Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts, chilli
suffered severe damage.
At many places, the harvested chilli was left in the
yards for drying up and the sudden rain left it soaked.
Crops like cashew, sunflower and green gram were damaged
in Srikakulam district.
"We are obtaining reports from each district on the
extent of damage to each crop.
The enumeration will take a few days because of the
lockdown and a clear picture on the damages will be known only
after that," a senior official of the State Disaster
Management Authority said. PTI DBV APR
RAVINDRANATH
APR
RAVINDRANATH

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)