Agriculture Minister targets cultivation of 60,000 acres of maize

By Ifham Nizam

Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday said arrangements had been made to cultivate 60,000 hectares of maize during the 2022/23 Maha season.

The main reason for the rapid increase in the prices of liquid milk, eggs and chicken, in the market was the shortage of maize required for animal feed, the minister said, adding that there was not enough foreign exchange to import maize and the countries that produced maize did not export it.

“We have been left with no alternative but to grow maize ourselves to meet the domestic demand. The Agricultural Seed and Plant Importers Association has agreed to provide the seeds required for maize cultivation in the forthcoming Maha season,” he said.

The government had decided to provide farmers with the highest guaranteed price for maize to ensure a bumper harvest in the coming Maha season.

The Minister said that arrangements had been made to fix the guaranteed price to prevent farmers from suffering losses.

It had been planned to provide all the necessary agricultural inputs such as machinery, fertilisers, seeds, etc., the minister said, adding that urea would be made available to maize growers. “So far, we have imported about 80 percent of the maize required by our country. Only about 20 percent of what we need was cultivated in our country. But in order to develop our country, we have to produce what we need”, he said.

“Therefore, by planting 60,000 hectares of maize in the next Maha season, we will be able to produce the full amount of maize we need. Our farmers do not ask for anything for free. They say that if we are given a high price for our products and inputs like urea fertiliser, we are ready to cultivate all the things that the country needs,” the minister added.