The farmers in Anuradhapura Mahaweli H Zone have produced record harvest of of soya beans amidst the prevailing drought.
This was revealed at the District Agriculture Committee meeting by Mahaweli H Zonal Deputy Residential Project Manager B.M.C. Bandaranayake.Bandaranayake said the farmers were encouraged to grow more soya and that resulted in a record harvest of 380,000 kg in the season. Average local production of soya is around 75,000 Mt only. The “Thri - posha” production have increased three fold and the factory needs 12,500 Mt annually to realize its target.
The Food Promotion Board under the Agriculture Ministry purchases a soya kilo at Rs. 95 via a private company on agreements. Amateur soya growers are given soya seeds free of charge and a Rs. 4,000 subsidy for land preparation, Abesinghe said.