Orissa announces relief package for farmers

BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Saturday announced a special package of Rs.900 crore for farmers who suffered losses due to unseasonal rains early this month.

Announcing the package in the assembly here, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the state government will contribute Rs.600 crore and the rest will come from the calamity relief fund (CRF) of the central government.

According to the preliminary estimate, standing and harvested crops suffered damage up to 50 percent in around 12 lakh hectares of farms. Both paddy and non-paddy crops were damaged in heavy rains triggered by a cyclonic depression, he said.

Patnaik said as a relief terms of farmers’ loans will be relaxed, including reduction in interest.

Orissa contributes about one-tenth of the country’s rice output. The state has about four million hectares under paddy cultivation. Over 62 percent of its farms are rain-fed.