Uncertain weather:
Farmers should resort to inter-crop cultivation due to uncertain weather during the next Maha season.
They need to be aware of the variety of seeds that can be cultivated, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development State Minister and Mahaweli Development Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.
The minister said so at a meeting at the Welikanda Residential Project Management Office in Mahaweli B Zone, recently.
The minister said farmers received a good harvest from paddy cultivations in the Walawe Mahaweli region in the Yala season despite drought.
A type of lowland paddy which needed less water was cultivated in the region.
A bountiful harvest was received from there, the minister said. Farmers can be provided support for fish breeding in a cage culture system replacing paddy cultivation in case of drought, he said.
“Our farmers are not aware of such sectors. A large income can be earned through inter-crop cultivation,” the minister said.
“We cannot rely on meteorological data and reports about rains during the next Maha season.The Meteorological Department says that the weather pattern is uncertain. During the past three years, less rain was experienced in the areas beyond the Central hills. Paddy was not cultivated in Hambantota for three seasons.
The situation in the North Central Province is similar. Paddy cultivation in the North Central Province had been curtailed for five seasons,” Minister Amaraweera said.