November 02, Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lankan Government is preparing to broaden its agricultural support programme by extending cultivation subsidies to farmers growing 12 additional food crops, marking a significant expansion of the existing assistance scheme, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Namal Karunaratne has announced.
According to the Deputy Minister, the initiative will extend financial assistance beyond traditional paddy cultivation, allowing farmers engaged in the production of other essential food crops to benefit from subsidies equivalent to those available to paddy farmers.
He said the move was aimed at strengthening domestic food production while providing greater financial relief to cultivators facing rising agricultural expenses.
Explaining the benefits of the programme, Karunaratne noted that recipients would have the freedom to utilise the funds for various farming-related activities. These include purchasing fertiliser, preparing agricultural land and meeting other essential expenses associated with cultivation.
He also pointed out that the government had doubled the cultivation subsidy compared with the amount provided under the previous administration, describing the expanded financial assistance as an unprecedented level of support for the farming community.
The Deputy Minister stressed that, for the first time, cultivators engaged in 12 selected food crops, in addition to paddy, would receive financial assistance at the same rate as that granted for paddy cultivation. The arrangement will also cover farmers who use land traditionally allocated for paddy cultivation to grow alternative food crops.
Karunaratne further confirmed that the subsidy payments were already being distributed, adding that the government intended to strengthen the agricultural sector by making financial support accessible to a wider section of the farming community.
The expansion is expected to encourage greater diversification in crop production, potentially helping Sri Lanka reduce its reliance on imported food items while making better use of available agricultural land.
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