Maha post-harvest damage exceeds 350,000 metric tons

Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has revealed that the crop cutting survey conducted by the Agriculture Department has revealed that the wastage during paddy harvesting has increased from 10 to 15 percent in this Maha Season and in some areas it is about 25 percent.

The Minister expressed these views in the presence of Hambantota District Agriculture Research and Production Assistants at the Bataatha AgriTech-24 Agricultural Technology Exhibition which started last Saturday (2).

The Minister also said that considering the post-harvest damage related to this paddy cultivation, the amount of paddy in this Maha Season is at least 350,000 metric tons.

There are several reasons for this. Although farmers have been cultivating paddy for a long time, many farmers do not have a proper understanding of when to harvest. Many farmers delayed harvest until the entire panicle of the paddy was ripe. But the Minister mentioned that the agricultural sector emphasised that 80 percent of the panicles should be harvested after they are fermented, and that the best part of the panicles is wasted.

The Minister also said that it is part of the duty of the farmers to teach the lesson of reducing post-harvest damage in paddy cultivation by ‘harvesting within thirty days of seeing the panicle of the paddy’ as the old villagers say.

Also, the Minister emphasised that the amount of valuable crops lost due to crop damage this year would be billions of rupees, and if that amount could have been prevented, there would have been a possibility of a surplus of rice in the country through the harvest of this Maha Season.

After the panicle is well dried, the wastage caused by machines like Bhootaya and Tsunami used for harvesting has increased. Therefore, the Agriculture Department has confirmed by giving a report that the crops are re-sowing in the field within a few days after harvesting because of the best rice that was wasted.

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