Govt. allocates Rs. 4 b for Maha paddy

By L. S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

The Cabinet had allocated four billion rupees to purchase the current maha crop from farmers, Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services Ministry, Secretary Ranjith Wijayatileke said.

He said the ministry expected to collect 140,000 metric tons of paddy from maha the harvest through the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) and store a percentage of the purchases as a buffer stock.

Subsidised fertiliser will be issued in future only to the farmers who sold at least 10 percent of their harvest to the PMB.

The Secretary said the Government Agents of Ampara, Pollonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Hambantota and Kurunagala the main rice producing districts had commenced purchasing paddy.

The maha season paddy harvest was being brought by the private sector mill owners offering higher rates between Rs. 33-36 per kilogram of Samba paddy whereas the government purchases it at prices between Rs. 28-30.