A’pura PMB speeds up paddy purchasing drive

Nimal Wijesinghe - Anuradhapura Additional District group corr

The Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) Anuradhapura Zonal Office will buy at least 50,000 metric tons of paddy from the Anuradhapura, Mullaithivu, Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Jaffna districts.

The government has allocated Rs 1,800 million for the purchasing programme.

The Paddy Marketing Board opened 30 paddy purchasing centres in the Anuradhapura district. Twelve purchasing centres were started in the Mullaithivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Mannar districts.

Four paddy purchasing centres were opened in the Jaffna district, said PMB’s Anuradhapura district director Bandula Kumara. He said rains during the last few days have prevented farmers from processing paddy in the Northern Province. He said more paddy would reach PMB stalls within next few weeks.