KPKM PROVIDES AID MECHANISM FOR FARMERS AFFECTED BY FLOODS

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) is providing assistance from the Padi Crop Disaster Fund (TBTP) for rice farmers and the Agricultural Disaster Fund for crop operators other than padi to help those affected by the flood disaster.

The Minister concerned, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, said KPKM also introduced the Padi Crop Takaful Scheme starting Sept 13 to protect rice crops from various risks including floods.

For the TBTP, he said assistance is provided in cash specifically to rice farmers who have suffered losses due to natural disasters involving several stages of assessment including the preparation of reports and loss assessments by agencies in the field to identify the level of damage faced by rice farmers.

"To address the issue of possible leakage or injustice in the process of providing assistance, rice farmers' assistance is only given to rice farmers who are registered and have passed the Screening Committee at the Technical Agency level," he said during the Minister's Question Time session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a question by Datuk Idris Ahmad (PN-Bagan Serai) who wanted to know the mechanism for distributing aid to ensure that flood-affected farmers actually receive aid and how the government is addressing issues of possible leakage or injustice in the aid granting process.

Mohamad said all aid applications would be carefully assessed and confirmed by the state-level committee before being presented to the TBTP Technical Committee at the headquarters level.

For applications for flood relief from the Agricultural Disaster Fund, investigations and field surveys would begin within 14 days after the flood ended to assess the extent of crop damage.

-- BERNAMA