Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to increase the amount of Rs.10 billion allocated for the purchase of paddy by the District Secretaries to Rs.20 billion.
The Government has decided to implement the paddy procurement mechanism through District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries. Accordingly, arrangements have been made to buy 01 kg of paddy at Rs.100 each.
Minister Amaraweera said that the President as the Minister of Finance had previously taken steps to allocate Rs.10 billion for this purpose and the President is ready to increase the amount to Rs.20 billion if necessary.
The Minister informed this while participating in a discussion with the representatives of the National Farmers’ Association yesterday.
The Government has made arrangements to provide 10 kg of rice per month to low-income families for two months after the purchase of paddy by the district secretaries. Earlier, the President had decided to provide relief to two million low-income families, but later the President has increased that number of beneficiaries to 2.9 million families.
Farmers’ representatives who expressed their opinion regarding the price of paddy stated that they are not satisfied with the decision to set the price of paddy at Rs. 100.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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