THANJAVUR: Thanks to Cyclones Nivar and Burevi, around 3.27 lakh acres of samba and thaladi paddy crop in Thanjavur have been insured under the Prime Minister Crop Insurance scheme. This accounts for 96.73 per cent of the total 3.38 lakh acres under cultivation.
As per the final estimates, a total of 3,26,819 acres cultivated by 1.18 lakh farmers has been insured. Around 2.9 lakh acres were insured last year.
"The rain forecast for Nivar and Burevi cyclones acted as a catalyst for farmers to insure crops," officials said. During Burevi, around 30,000 acres of crops were damaged and the farmers are expecting compensation for it. Next week, a team from the Centre will visit the district to assess the damage and recommend compensation from the Union Government. The rains after the Burevi cyclone also affected crops in some areas and the enumeration for the damage is underway.
Around Rs 74.63 crore has been received as compensation by 1.61 lakh farmers from the insurance company for the crops affected during the last samba season. For those farmers whose bank account details were wrong, the correct details are being collected and the compensation is being credited now, sources added.
The last date for insuring crops was fixed as December 15. As many as 61 Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) have been functioning in four taluks where the samba harvest has commenced.