100,000 hectares to be withdrawn from paddy cultivation

WEDNESDAY, 23 MARCH 2016

The farmer should withdraw from paddy cultivation and engage in supplementary crop cultivation to get a stable price for paddy says the Minister of Agriculture Duminda Dissanayaka.

The Minister has said this participating in a special discussion with Agriculture Officers held at the District Secretariat at Anuradhapura yesterday (22nd).

Accordingly, the government has decided to remove paddy cultivation from 100,000 hectares this season and cultivate soya and maize instead.

Farmers associations including All Ceylon Farmers' Federation, engaged in protest campaigns against the government demanding fertilizer subsidy and a certified price for paddy, have continuously  claimed that the rulers are carrying out a conspiracy to displace the farmer from paddy cultivation.