At the request of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the government has planned to provide a financial grant to the paddy farmers through Asian Development Bank assistance, subject to a maximum of Rs 20,000.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera, this allowance will be given to small-scale rice farmers who are engaged in farming activities on one hectare or less. Farmers who cultivate rice on more than one hectare will be compensated with Rs 20,000.
This financial assistance will be provided only to the paddy farmers, and the money will be directly credited to their accounts.
This season, nearly 800,000 hectares of paddy are to be cultivated, and this allowance will be available for them to buy Bundi fertilizer or MOP.
Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that the amount proposed to be spent for this purpose is 8 billion rupees, and 1.2 million farmer families will be entitled to this benefit.
Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera is likely to announce this shortly.
