40,000 METRIC TONS OF PADDY PURCHSED THIS SEASON

April 23, 2010: The government says it has purchased 40,000 metric tons of paddy from farmers so far this season.

The Ministry of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services added that the process would continue uninterrupted.

“Offices of the paddy marketing board are open in all parts of the country for this purpose,” said S. Amarasekara, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Research.

Rs. 3,000 million have been allocated for purchasing paddy this season.

The Secretary to the Ministry noted that if those funds proved insufficient additional funds could also be obtained.

Farmers who bring their paddy to the storage facilities are paid Rs. 31.50 for a kilogramme of Samba while Nadu is purchased at Rs. 29.50 a kilogramme.

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Posted in paddy purchasing , rice harvest , Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka yielding the best ever Maha harvest

(April 21, 2010) Sri Lanka is now yielding the highest harvest that she gained in a ‘Maha’ season, reports say. ‘Maha’ is the most favorable season for paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture S. Amarasekara says that the harvest will reach to 2.6 million metric tons. This is an increase of 300,000 tons of the anticipated harvest of the Maha season this year. The agricultural authorities expected a harvest of 2.3 million. 

The Ministry commended the favorable weather conditions, fertilizer subsidy and the addition of the harvest of the Northern and Eastern Provinces to the national output for the sharp increase of harvest.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture said that the Paddy Marketing Board under the Ministry has so far purchased 36,000 metric tons from the farmers. 

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Posted in Maha season , Ministry of Agriculture , rice harvest , S. Amarasekara