Abandoned paddy lands to be taken over

By Ifham Nizam

It has been revealed at the Parliamentary Consultative Committee (PCC) Meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture that plans are underway to take over all abandoned paddy lands for a period of five years for recultivation.

Addressing the PCC meeting, last, Friday (10) at the Parliamentary complex, Agriculture, Wildlife and Forest Conservation Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that the Department of Agrarian Services (DAS) would identify such paddy lands soon. “There are provisions under the Agrarian Services Act for taking over abandoned arable land, in crisis situations. The lands identified by the DAS would be taken over for a period of five years. They will be handed over to farmers. Priority will be given to the youth,” the Minister said.

Minister Amaraweera said that the Ministry had information of abandoned paddy fields whose owners are living overseas. In some instances, owners cannot cultivate their lands due to issues such as labour shortage. “Currently, there are more than 100,000 hectares of abandoned paddy lands, countrywide, as per our latest statistics. Most of them are in the Western Province,” the Minister said.