Bumper paddy harvest from East

*Farmers get Rs. 30 per kilo

*Prices to come down

Irangika Range

A bumper paddy harvest of 738,862 metric tonnes has been reaped during the current Maha season in the Eastern Province since its liberation from the LTTE.

Trade, Marketing Development, Co-operatives and Consumer Services Minister Bandula Gunawardhana said the prices of rice are expected to come down in the market within the next few months due to this bumper harvest.

It is significant that around 131,176 acres of additional paddy lands have been utilized for cultivation covering all three districts of Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee after the Eastern Province was liberated from the LTTE by the Armed Forces.

”It is not necessary to import rice, since enough rice stocks are available countrywide,” the Minister added.

The prices of rice will be slashed further in the market during the next few months due to the bountiful paddy crops harvested this Maha season as a result of the Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu program,” Gunawardhana said.

For the first time, paddy farmers have obtained a price of Rs.30 per kilo for their paddy. This has resulted in improving living standards of paddy farmers and focused them on paddy cultivation.

Providing a fertilizer bag at a subsidised price of Rs.350 too has contributed to the huge harvest,” he said. The Minister assured that there will be no rice shortage in the market as buffer stocks are available in Government stores islandwide.