VIJAYAWADA: The State government has introduced a self-registration facility enabling farmers to report crop losses caused by Severe Cyclone Arnab and heavy rains through the e-Panta website and APAIMS Farmer App. The initiative is aimed at simplifying the reporting process and helping the Agriculture Department document crop damage through digital submissions alongside field-level assessments. Under the facility, farmers can access the e-Panta website or APAIMS Farmer App and select the option for registering crop losses. They must authenticate themselves using their Aadhaar-linked mobile number through one-time password (OTP) verification. After authentication, they can enter details of the affected crop and damaged area and upload photographs showing the extent of the loss.
On the first day of its introduction on Thursday, 403 farmers submitted self-reports covering 1,025 plots, with 843.4 acres reported as damaged out of a total cropped area of 949.1 acres, as of 7 p.m. on October 29. Kakinada district accounted for the highest number of submissions, with 111 farmers reporting damage to 205.8 acres. West Godavari followed, with 64 farmers reporting damage to 184.8 acres.
“Farmers can self-register crop losses through the e-Panta website or APAIMS Farmer App using Aadhaar OTP authentication and uploading photographs of damaged crops. I urge farmers to register promptly and follow agricultural scientists’ recommendations for crop recovery,’’ said State Agriculture Director Dr. Manazir Jeelani Samoon.
The digital initiative comes amid widespread inundation of agricultural land across the State following torrential rains and gale-force winds triggered by the cyclone. According to a preliminary crop inundation report released by the State authorities on October 28, a total of 3,51,962.6 hectares of farmland had been inundated across 7,613 villages in 291 mandals spread over 16 districts, affecting 5,42,003 farmers.
West Godavari reported the highest inundated area at 80,080.89 hectares, followed by Kakinada with 55,806 hectares, East Godavari with 53,122.19 hectares and Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema with 46,845.34 hectares. Krishna district reported inundation across 44,917.56 hectares, while Srikakulam accounted for 21,940.64 hectares.
Bapatla reported 15,107 hectares of inundation, followed by Eluru with 14,671.12 hectares and Guntur with 11,537 hectares. NTR district recorded 563.4 hectares, while Alluri Sitharama Raju accounted for 311.5 hectares. Parvathipuram Manyam reported 645.12 hectares and Visakhapatnam 78.9 hectares.
Paddy was the worst-affected crop, with 3,45,582.6 hectares inundated across the State. Black gram was affected across 3,941.57 hectares, followed by cotton at 1,799.41 hectares and maize at 362.4 hectares. Sugarcane, red gram, green gram and other crops also suffered inundation. The preliminary assessment recorded damage to 41 nurseries.
Paddy crops at the booting and flowering stages suffered severe damage, with extensive lodging reported in West Godavari, Kakinada, Konaseema, East Godavari and Krishna districts.
The Agriculture Department has instructed field-level officials to create awareness among farmers about the self-registration facility. Detailed enumeration of crop losses will be undertaken after excess water recedes. Farmers have also been advised to follow the recommendations of agricultural scientists to support crop recovery.