Good news for farmers whose farms were affected by Tropical Cyclone Cody as the government will step in to assist them to ensure their welfare and livelihoods are protected.
In a press conference today, Agriculture Minister Dr. Mahendra Reddy highlighted four categories of assistance that will be disbursed to affected farmers starting this week.
Dr. Reddy says farming families who rely on farming for their livelihood and sustained 30% or above damages to their farms will receive $250 for land preparations, cultivation and procurement of planting materials.
He says this will ensure that the agriculture sector continues to grow including its exports.
He adds all 250 farmers who are into export will receive 50kg of fertilizer and 10 trays of seedlings of crops and vegetables they are planting.
The Minister says this will ensure that agriculture export will continue.
Dr. Reddy says 20,000 affected farmers will be given seed packages and those farmers that require this assistance will need to visit one of their offices around the country.
He says another 20,000 will be assisted through their Home Gardening Packages program which starts rolling out this week.
The Minister confirmed that without inspection of farms, no application will be accepted.
Dr. Reddy is urging farmers to apply for the assistance online but for those that cannot, the Minister has confirmed that their officers will be visiting them.
The application for the farm household assistance will close on the 26th of this month and payments are expected to be rolled out on the 4th of next month.
