Govt. disburses relief to the tune of Rs. 9.6 billion among paddy farmers

By Ifham Nizam

The Department of Agrarian Development has allocated Rs.9.6 billion among farmers for agricultural activities related to paddy cultivation in the 2023/24 Maha season, Agrarian Development Commissioner General A. M. H. L. Abeyrathna said.

The government decided to allocate the money among 1.2 million farmers at the rate of Rs.15,000 per hectare.

Abeyrathna added that another Rs.450 million was to be credited to the farmers’ accounts on February 5th and that 93 percent of the total paddy-growing farmers have been provided with a Rs. 15,000 allowance for agricultural activities, including the purchase of fertilizers related to paddy cultivation in the Maha season.

He also said that due to the heavy rains of the past few months, about 7 percent of paddy land was destroyed.

Meanwhile, in the Badulla and Nuwara Eliya districts cultivating of paddy fields is late in the Maha season. The Commissioner General said that the financial allocations for those paddy fields remain to be made.

It is reported that funds to the tune of Rs. 10 billion has been allocated by the government for providing the Rs. 15,000 allowance for agricultural activities related to paddy cultivation in the Maha season. These moneys are provided with the aim of disbursing some relief to farmers despite the country’s financial difficulties.

Arrangements were made to credit the relevant payments to the farmer’s accounts in order to avoid possible irregularities in the granting of these concessions.

The Department of Agrarian Development admitted that due to errors in the numbers in some of the farmers’ accounts and because a large number of fields were damaged due to floods, it was not possible to allocate the money on time.

‘However, despite all the obstacles, arrangements have been made to credit the relevant payments 100 percent to the farmers’ accounts within the next two weeks, the Department of Agrarian Development said.