Gandhinagar, June 15 (IANS) The Gujarat government has paid agricultural relief and compensation worth Rs 22,733 crore to more than 1.36 crore farmers affected by floods, unseasonal rain, drought, cyclones and soil erosion over the past decade, with the latest financial year accounting for the largest single payout on record.

According to official year-wise agricultural relief data accessed by IANS, a total of 1,36,28,407 farmers benefited from government compensation and relief packages between 2015-16 and 2025-26, underscoring the increasing economic impact of recurrent floods, droughts, cyclones, unseasonal rainfall and other weather-related calamities on Gujarat’s agricultural sector.

The most significant increase came in 2025-26, when compensation reached Rs 10,337 crore for 36,74,065 farmers affected by a series of crop-loss events, including special relief packages for paddy and cotton growers announced following damage reported during October 2024, as well as relief measures covering August-September and October 2025.

The amount accounted for nearly 46 per cent of all agricultural relief disbursed over the entire period covered by the data.

The figures illustrate how climate-related agricultural losses have steadily increased in scale since 2015-16, when 182,041 farmers received Rs 279 crore following heavy rainfall, floods, and unseasonal rains.

Compensation rose sharply to Rs 1,706 crore in 2017-18 after heavy rainfall, flooding and soil erosion affected large parts of the state.

The following year, the government disbursed Rs 1,678 crore to 17,59,614 farmers impacted by both heavy rainfall and drought conditions across 51 and 45 talukas, respectively.

The relief followed one of Gujarat’s most challenging monsoon seasons, when dozens of talukas were declared scarcity-hit due to deficient rainfall and special drought packages were announced for affected regions.

In 2019-20, unseasonal rainfall triggered one of the largest agricultural assistance exercises to date.

A total of 33,18,097 farmers received Rs 2,489 crore under the Agricultural Assistance Package-2019, making it the highest beneficiary count recorded in the dataset until that time.

The state’s compensation bill climbed further in 2020-21 when heavy rainfall and floods led to payouts of Rs 2,906 crore covering about 19,03,575 farmers under the Agricultural Relief Package-2020.

During 2021-22, Gujarat provided Rs 1,240 crore to 7,67,330 farmers through the Cyclone Agricultural Relief Package-2021 and the Agricultural Relief Package-2021, implemented in two phases.

Relief requirements were temporarily eased in 2022-23, when heavy rainfall-related losses led to compensation of Rs 197 crore to 1,93,771 farmers.

However, extreme weather events again intensified in 2023-24. The state paid Rs 410 crore to 2,55,641 farmers affected by unseasonal rain, heavy rainfall and the impact of Cyclone Biparjoy.

The cyclone struck Gujarat’s coast in June 2023, causing extensive damage to crops, orchards and trees, particularly in Kutch and Banaskantha districts.

Government assessments at the time estimated damage across about 1.3 lakh hectares, prompting a dedicated relief package for affected cultivators. The following year saw another substantial rise in compensation.

In 2024-25, the government disbursed Rs 1,491 crore to 8,04,703 farmers affected by a succession of weather-related incidents, including unseasonal rainfall events, heavy monsoon damage, special relief packages and soil erosion during the Kharif season.

The most historic escalation occurred in 2025-26. Compensation jumped more than seven times from the previous year, rising from Rs 1,491 crore to Rs 10,337 crore.

The number of beneficiaries also surged to more than 3.67 lakh farmers, making it the largest agricultural relief exercise recorded in the dataset.

Officials indicated that crop-loss compensation programmes had expanded significantly as weather-related claims increased across districts.

The decade-long figures suggest that Gujarat has significantly strengthened its agricultural disaster-response framework, with relief measures becoming larger and more comprehensive as weather-related challenges have intensified.

By extending compensation to more than 1.36 crore farmers and disbursing Rs 22,733 crore through successive relief packages, the state has sought to cushion cultivators from natural calamities, highlighting the government’s emphasis on protecting farm livelihoods during periods of crisis.

–IANS

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