KENDRAPARA: Swarming caterpillars (Leda) have damaged large tracts of paddy saplings in the district badly hitting economic backbone of thousands of farmers. "Help from the administration, however, is yet to reach the villagers more than three weeks after the first swarm of insects arrived here. The insects are black in colour and measuring less than an inch in length. Most of the crops have been destroyed in the area," said Gayadhar Dhal, secretary of Kendrapara District Krusaka Sabha. About 3000 hectares of paddy saplings have been affected due to the insect attack, said Dhal. However, the district agriculture office sources said only 487 ha have been affected. Some rich farmers have sprayed insecticides to keep the insects at bay. But the marginal farmers, who cannot afford insecticides, have lost all their saplings. One of them is Rakesh Samal, a resident of Patakura. He has five acres of land and invested Rs 5,000 this year on paddy saplings. Last year, the land yielded sufficient profits for him. But this year, he apprehends a huge loss. The condition of bigger farmers like Gatikrushna Rout of the same village is only slightly better. His family owns eight acres of land. Last year, each acre gave him 80 quintals of paddy. "This year, after spending a substantial sum on insecticides, I only hope to get on an average 40 quintals from each acre," said Rout. The villagers are livid at the apathy of the administration. Several pleas have been made at the block development office but no official has turned up till date, the farmers complained. Contacted, district agriculture officer S. Mishra said, "Twelve mobile teams have been providing insecticides to farmers free of cost."