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| Wednesday, 24 March 2004 |
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by Anura Maitipe Paddy farmers in the Polonnaruwa district are in a predicament as they are unable to sell 180,000 kilos of rice to the Government as the guaranteed price of Rs. 15 per kilo, Chairman of the All Island Paddy Farmers Association, Muthubanda Ratnaike told the Daily News. Ratnaike said private traders were buying the paddy for a song as the Government had failed to purchase paddy at the guaranteed price. He said farmers around the country were facing the same predicament as their compatriots in Polonnaruwa. Although the Government has announced that it has established 15 buying centres to purchase paddy at Rs.15 a kilo, none of those centres has commenced purchasing paddy, he added. Campaign advertisements are also aired that paddy is bought from farmers at Rs.15 a kilo. He told a recent meeting at the Mahaweli Centre that the Government has not released funds to cooperatives. "Government politicians promised us that they would purchase paddy through cooperative societies. But this has not happened." However, the private sector is purchasing paddy at low rates which are not sufficient to cover the cost of production. During the last two years, fertiliser prices had gone up three-fold. With the recent price hike, 50 kilos of Mada Pohora has gone up from Rs.1058 to Rs.1237, TSV from 1148 to Rs.1298 and potash from Rs.1073 to Rs.1298. The Government promised to provide fertiliser at a subsidised price ti improve the agriculture sector, but the farmers are unable to recoup their investment as they are unable to get a good price for their produce, Ratnaike said. |
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