Yala farmers to sell paddy to PMB

by I.L.M. Rizan, Addalaichenai Central Cor.

The harvesting of the Yala 2013 paddy cultivation in the Ampara District has commenced and the harvested paddy stored without selling them to traders through brokers at a much lower price than the Government's guaranteed price.

The farmers are anxious to sell the paddy to the Paddy Marketing Board to realise the GPS price which is very much more.

Except for the paddy farmers affected by the recent floods, the other cultivators have realised a bumper harvest in the current season.

The flood affected farmers have sustained heavy losses and are unable to recover their investments on paddy lands.As most farmers have cultivated red rice this season, the demand for red rice has diminished.

Traders and mill owners from the Jaffna, Polannaruwa and Batticaloa districts are visiting the Ampara district to purchase paddy.

The paddy harvesting operations commenced simultaneously in all divisions in the district, resulting in a shortage of combined harvesters. As a result, the wages for combined harvesters have increased considerably.