Rain in Jaffna:

Jaffna plans to bring 7,000 hectares under paddy cultivation this year

Jaffna special correspondent

JAFFNA: With the onset of the North East monsoon rain in Jaffna, Jaffna farmers are busy sowing paddy.

This year, 7,000 hectares of land will be brought under cultivation. Jaffna farmers reaped a rich paddy last year harvest and they have selected the high yielding variety of paddy as seed paddy.

The World Food Organisation distributed 100 metric tonnes of seed paddy to farmers below the poverty line this year.

The Army also released paddy lands under their control for paddy cultivation to land owners after a lapse of 10 years. Meanwhile, potato cultivators will be issued seed potatoes at the Colombo price on Minister Douglas Devananda’s intervention.

Twenty nine hectares of land are to be cultivated in addition this season and action has been taken to bring 58 metric tonne of seed potatoes from Colombo.