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by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Agriculture and Livestock Minister S.B. Dissanayake yesterday denied the complaints that the farmers have not got a fair price for their Maha paddy harvest and said this is a completely fabricated story by certain sections to fulfil their narrow political gains.

Nearly 55 per cent of the Maha paddy harvest has already been reaped. At present, farmers are getting Rs.11 to Rs.12 per Kilo of paddy at the threshing floor, the Minister told a press conference yesterday.

"When the entire Maha paddy harvest is released to the market, a Kilo of Samba will be nearly Rs.33 and a Kilo of Nadu will be nearly Rs.28. Whatever complaints were made, farmers have obtained satisfactory prices for their paddy," he said.

He said:" If the Government was ready to purchase a Kilo of paddy for Rs.13.50, farmers have to take their paddy harvest to various purchasing centres. Therefore the provision of Rs.11 to Rs.12 to farmers per Kilo of paddy within the threshing floor would be more beneficial to them."

The Minister said nearly 1.9 million Metric tons of paddy is expected this Maha season. Of them 1.2 million metric tons of rice is expected to be milled. The country's annual rice requirement is 1.9 million metric tons. When the Yala and Maha paddy harvest is combined, the country will be able to produce its total rice requirement locally during this year.

Of the total paddy harvest of 1.9 million metric tons, nearly 600000 metric tons are found to be below the expected standard due to heavy rains. If between Rs.10 and Rs.11 is paid per Kilo for such paddy, it may be more profitable to farmers, he said. However the intention of the Government is to offer more than Rs.13.50 per Kilo of quality paddy. The Government has given Rs.13.50 as a fixed guaranteed price to farmers per Kilo of paddy.

Dissanayake said the Government hopes to offer Rs.14 to farmers per Kilo of paddy by next year. At present, private traders also purchase paddy from farmers at the threshing floor between the rates from Rs.11 to Rs.12 per Kilo. " This is a good price for farmers is 15 no disadvantage for them."

"Various rumours have spread that the farmers cannot sell a Kilo of paddy for Rs.11 or Rs.12 at the threshing floor. This is a false and fabricated story created with the interest of a certain section. At present, a Kilo of Rathu Kekulu Samba is sold to Rs.14.50 at the threshing floor in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa districts. Therefore farmers can be satisfied on the present price offered for their paddy," he said. Meanwhile the Agriculture Ministry has implemented a special advance loan scheme named "Alavi Saviya" for the benefit of farmers. Under the Alavi Saviya, farmers will be provided a Rs.10 loan advance per Kilo of paddy through the Samurdhi banks. According to Alavi Saviya, Rs.40,000 will be advanced to farmers as a loan which can be repaid within four months.

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