Rs.9.6Bn given to farmers for paddy cultivation in Maha season

According to the Department of Agrarian Development, as of yesterday (04) Rs.9.6 billion have been given to the farmers for the agricultural activities related to paddy cultivation in the 2023/24 Maha season.

The Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industry, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera states that upon the approval of the Cabinet Ministers, measures were taken to credit the farmers’ accounts for paddy cultivation in the Maha season and related agricultural activities. Accordingly, the government decided to give the money to 1.2 million farmers at the rate of Rs.15,000 per hectare.

Paying attention to the statements published in the media by people who claim to be representatives of certain farmers’ organizations that the money has not been received by some farmers, the Minister of Agriculture asked the present situation on farmer’s concessions Agrarian Development Commissioner General A. M. H. L. Abeyrathna (05).

Accordingly, the Commissioner General says that an amount of Rs.9.6 billion has been credited to the farmers’ accounts. He also said that another Rs.450 million are to be credited to the farmers’ accounts today, and 93 percent of the total paddy-growing farmers have been credited with the 15,000 rupees allowance for agricultural activities including the purchase of fertilizers related to paddy cultivation in the Maha season. .

Due to the heavy rains of the past few months, about 07 percent of the paddy fields were destroyed from the heavy floods. Also, in Badulla and Nuwara Eliya districts cultivating paddy fields are late in the Maha season. The Commissioner General of Agriculture also emphasized that only the financial allocations for those paddy fields remain to be paid.

The amount spent by the government is 10 billion rupees for the 15,000 rupees allowance given for agricultural activities related to paddy cultivation in the Maha season. This amount is provided at the expense of the government and the government took this step with the aim of providing some relief to the farmers despite the financial difficulties.

Arrangements were made to credit the same amount to the farmer’s accounts in order to avoid possible irregularities in the granting of these concessions. But the Department of Agrarian Development says that due to the errors in the numbers in some of the farmers’ accounts and because a large number of fields were damaged due to floods, it was not possible to account for the money on time.

But despite all the obstacles, arrangements have been made to complete the payment of the amount to 100 percent of the farm accounts within the next two weeks, says the Department of Agrarian Development.

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