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by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The Agriculture and Livestock Ministry has formulated a new subsidy scheme for farmers to replace the present fertilizer subsidy scheme. This new scheme has been presented in Parliament as a new budget proposal, Minister S.B.Dissanayake told the 'Daily News'.

He said the present fertilizer subsidy had failed to provide sufficient relief to the small and medium scale farmers engaged in the cultivation sector. As a remedy a new (stamp) coupon system will be introduced under the new scheme to enable farmers to purchase seeds, manure and other agrochemicals needed for their cultivations according to their needs.

Under this new scheme, a Rs.1,000 subsidy will be provided to farmers who cultivate one fourth acre to one acre of land during a single season while Rs.1,500 will be granted for farmers cultivating one to two acres. Those who cultivate two to three acres will be granted a Rs.2,000 subsidy.

The Minister said the objective of this new stamp system is to safeguard the farmers from exploitation by local and foreign racketeers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry will shortly implement an islandwide program to revive agriculture and uplift the living conditions of farmers.

Minister Dissanayake said a special purchasing system will be started from next year to enable framers to sell their paddy without any hardships and protect them from racketeers who tried to exploit them during the harvesting period. According to this new system, paddy will be purchased from farmers at a fair price. The paddy so purchased will be packed in a special bag and stored in their own residences.

When the market prices increased,these rice stocks will be released to the market providing a high source of income to the farmers, he said.

The Minister said initiatives will be taken to provide a more systematic training and a scholarship scheme for the benefit of Agriculture Research Officers and Production Assistants. They are the persons who have close links with the farmers at village level. In addition a Rs. 20 million fund will be created for a loan scheme for these officers in addition to a special awards scheme to provide more incentives for them.

An opportunity will also be provided to agriculture officers to follow diploma courses at the 9 Agriculture Colleges established throughout the country, he added.

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