5000 metric tons of keeri samba has been harvested in2022 season – Agri. Dept.

The Department of Agriculture emphasized that in the 2022/23 season, 07 percent of the total paddy cultivation area in the country was planted with the Keeri Samba or BG 360 variety, which yielded 5000 metric tons of paddy.

The Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industry, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera discussed with the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture about the shortage of Keeri Samba rice currently in the market today (22).

Officials of the Department of Agriculture emphasized that there is currently a shortage of Keeri Samba rice and Samba rice in the market, but the shortage is artificially created by the business community.

In the 2022/23 maha season, 08 lakh hectares of paddy was cultivated and 2.7 million metric tons of rice was harvested in that year. Generally, the annual rice requirement of our country is 2.4 million metric tons. There must be a surplus of about 03 lakh metric tons of rice in the country.

Also BG 360 or Keeri Samba rice variety has been cultivated in 175,000 acres. The yield was 5000 metric tons. Keeri Samba rice is not consumed by people in many areas. The reason for this is that the rice contains a high amount of sugar, and it has been confirmed that the blood sugar level increases by consuming the rice, especially for diabetics.

Therefore, there cannot be any shortage of Keeri Samba rice in the country. Also BG 360 or Keeri Samba rice variety is a local rice variety. This type of rice is not grown in any country in the world. Therefore, there is no possibility of importing that rice, says the Department of Agriculture.

However, the officials of the Department of Agriculture emphasized that the shortage of rice is not caused by a shortage of rice in the country, but rather a shortage made by some people with the purpose of making more profit.

The discussion was attended by state ministers D.B. Herath, Mohan de Silva, Kader Mastan, Agriculture and media Plantation Secretary Janaka Dharmakeerthy, Director General of Agriculture Malathi Parasuraman also participated.

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