Over 6 lakh hectare crops in TN hit by Fengal, torrential rains: Minister

CHENNAI: The State's agricultural sector has suffered extensive damage due to Cyclone Fengal and the subsequent northeast monsoon rains, according to Minister for Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare MRK Panneerselvam.

Minister Panneerselvam on Monday revealed that a total of 6,30,621 hectares of agri crops and horticulture crops have been damaged across the state to date.

Breaking down details of the damage, the minister stated that Cyclone Fengal, which made landfall in Tamil Nadu in the first week of December, damaged agri crops in an area of 2,86,069 hectares and horticulture crops in an area of 73,263 hectares.

"The subsequent northeast monsoon rains further exacerbated the damage, with agri crops on an area of 2,25,655 hectares and horticulture crops on an area of 45,634 hectares being affected," he said in a statement.

In addition to the crop damage, minister Panneerselvam also reported that 2,906 metric tonnes of agricultural produce have been damaged in the Vikravandi and Aragandanallur regulated markets in Villupuram district.

The minister said he has instructed officials to complete the crop damage assessment by December 17 and send a proposal to the government to provide relief to farmers quickly under the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF).

The Minister also directed officials to meet with the Department of Statistics and crop insurance companies to discuss the issue of providing compensation to farmers at the earliest under the crop insurance scheme.