GUNTUR: Under the instructions of Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, financial aid worth Rs 28.11 crore has been allocated to extend a special interest-free crop loan of Rs 10,000 to the members of Tobacco Board’s Growers’ Welfare Schemes of AP, said Tobacco Board Executive Director Dr Addanki Sridhar Babu in a statement here on Tuesday.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that the initiative has been taken to help the Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco farmers who have incurred crop loss due to the Mandous cyclone.“The initiative will benefit as many as 28,112 farmers. I also request the concerned officials of the AP government and district collectors of Prakasam, Palnadu, Bapatla, and SPSR Nellore to enumerate FCV tobacco crop damage and provide essential compensation to the farmers under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF),” he stated.
“Required action should be taken to sanction an additional crop loan of Rs 50,000 per barn for taking up crop damage mitigation measures,” he further added.