Cyclone Arnab: Odisha announces up to Rs 22,500 a hectare for farmers

The Odisha government announced a special assistance package on Sunday, 1 November 2026, for families and farmers hit by Cyclone Arnab. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi's package gives farmers who lost 33% or more of their crop an input subsidy of Rs 8,500 a hectare for unirrigated land, Rs 17,000 for irrigated land and Rs 22,500 for perennial crops, for up to two hectares. Affected families will get 50 kg of rice and Rs 2,500 in cash. A Central inter-ministerial team is visiting the state from 2 to 4 November to assess the damage.

Cyclone Arnab struck the east coast in late October, just as paddy, the main kharif (monsoon-season) crop in Odisha, was nearing harvest. Heavy rain, strong winds and flooding flattened standing crops and buried fields under sand and silt. For farmers who had spent months and money on that crop, the loss came at the worst possible moment.

The package is designed around what a farmer needs to restart. The input subsidy is meant to help pay for seeds, fertiliser and labour for the next crop, not to replace the full value of the lost harvest. The 33% threshold means only farmers with substantial damage qualify, and the two-hectare cap focuses help on small and marginal farmers.

Two measures address the longer tail of the disaster. Money for clearing sand and silt matters because a field buried under sand cannot be sown until it is cleared. Converting short-term crop loans into medium-term loans gives farmers more time to repay, so a lost harvest does not immediately push them into default and cut them off from fresh credit for the rabi season.

The subsidy on pesticides for the rabi season and the free mini kits aim to get the next crop in the ground quickly. Fish farmers, whose ponds can be wiped out by floods, get separate help.

What comes next depends partly on the Centre. The inter-ministerial team's assessment will decide how much support the state receives from national disaster funds, which can add to what Odisha spends from its own budget.

Odisha's Cyclone Arnab package for farmers Measure | Amount or detail Unirrigated crop loss (33% or more) | Rs 8,500 a hectare, up to 2 ha Irrigated crop loss | Rs 17,000 a hectare, up to 2 ha Perennial crops | Rs 22,500 a hectare, up to 2 ha Sand and silt removal | Rs 18,000 a hectare Rabi pesticides | 75% subsidy Affected families | 50 kg rice and Rs 2,500

Short-term: Affected farmers can expect input subsidies and help with sowing the rabi crop, while families get food grain and cash. Crop insurance claims are to be settled faster.

Long-term: Loan restructuring and support for clearing fields should help farmers recover over the next season, but the full cost of the cyclone will become clearer after the Central team's assessment.

Who is affected: Paddy and other crop farmers, sugarcane and perennial crop growers, fish farmers, rural families in cyclone-hit districts, and banks and insurers handling crop loans and claims.

What farmers should do: Make sure crop loss is recorded in the official damage survey, keep land and crop records ready, and contact the local agriculture office or bank about insurance claims and loan conversion.

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