Buffer stock of 330,000 bushels of seed paddy - Agriculture Minister

Sandasen Marasinghe, Irangika Range and Disna Mudalige

The government has a stock of 330,000 bushels of seed paddy in stores to be used in case of a natural disaster in the next Maha season, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena stated in Parliament yesterday.

The minister further said that a stock of 330,000 bushels of seed paddy which is in the possession of the government at present is sufficient to cultivate the 165,000 acres of paddy lands.

The minister was answering an oral question raised by UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera. "In keeping with the state policy, the government organises the production and supply of seed jointly with the private sector," he further said.