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Production capacity of farmers should be increased - SB

The UNF Government for the first time has formulated plans to develop agriculture crop by crop, providing an opportunity to the farmer community to stand on their own feet, Agriculture, Livestock and Samurdhi Minister S.B.Dissanayake said.

The Minister who was the Chief Guest at the opening of Lak Pohora fertiliser store at Vijithapura, Nuwara Eliya said the farmer is the lifeblood of human life. He should not offer his services free. The production capacity of the farmer should be increased.

He said after 1994, Rs.3000 million was spent for the fertiliser subsidy and provided a bag of Urea to farmers for Rs.350. If the Government has allocated Rs.6000 million to the fertiliser subsidy today, a bag of Urea fertiliser has to be sold at Rs.700. The demand on fertiliser has rapidly increased.

The Minister said more farmers in the North-East areas are again active. This situation has increased the utilisation of fertiliser in the North-East. Of the total requirement of the country's Urea fertiliser, 30 per cent is sent for North-East farmers.

"It is very important to request farmers to provide a fixed price for potato, chillies and other products without protesting against the removal of the Urea fertiliser subsidy," he said.

The fertiliser subsidy will be removed in future. Then a bag of Urea fertiliser will be about Rs.1000. But if the farmers can earn profits and pay Rs.1000 for a bag of Urea, farmers should not panic about the increase of fertiliser prices, he said. Dissanayake said that in order to further safeguard agriculture, the amount of subsidies granted should be reduced. "As the Agriculture Minister, I am making attempts to extricate farmers from their dependent mentality. In future, subsidies will not be granted for agriculture. Only aid will be granted to farmers to develop their cultivations."

Meanwhile, Samurdhi Banks have formulated several loan schemes for the benefit of farmers. In addition, the Aruna Agricultural Credit Scheme and Govijana Banks will provide credit facilities to medium and large scale farmers. In order to turn agriculture to a commercial activity, loans should be granted to farmers for cultivation, the Minister said.

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