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by our Parliament correspondent

All steps have been taken by the Government to protect the interest of the paddy farmer, Finance Minister K. N. Choksy declared yesterday .

The Treasury has already released a sum of Rs. 205 million for the purchase of the current bumper paddy harvest and another Rs.453 million has been earmarked to be released to the 17 paddy growing districts.

"The amounts are based on the estimated cash requirements of the District Secretaries from the 17 paddy growing districts", Minister Choksy told Parliament responding to a special statement made in the House by Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa who charged the Government of leaving the farmer in the lurch.

Choksy said the CWE was also making purchases."The farmers are receiving a farmgate price, between Rs. 11.50 and 12.50 a bushel." he told the House.

He said all PMB and CWE Warehouses were made available for storage adding that the country was witnessing its largest paddy harvest in a decade.

Rajapaksa in his statement charged that despite wide publicity given by the Government to the purchase of paddy, farmers were unable to dispose of their stocks.

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