Satellite GPS Technology to assess crop damages
The damages to crops will be directly assessed through Satellites with GPS technology enabling them to expeditiously pay compensations to the farmers for the damages, the Director General of Agriculture Insurance Board Panduka Weerasinghe said.
Weerasinghe said that World Bank assistance will be obtained for the new project and which will be implemented from 2016.
Under the new scheme the farmers can inform the Agricultural Insurance Board about the losses they have incurred from the paddy field itself. This information could be conveyed through Mobile phones SMS or contacting the Board through telephones.
The Director General said that with the implementation of this method, the farmers will be able to receive compensation promptly while eliminating the delays and bureaucracy.
He further pointed out that the insurance activities for the Yala season have commenced and the cultivations for which the farmers have obtained fertilizer subsidy and agriculture loans will be insured under this scheme.
