Sri Lankan government to provide mobile and fixed dryers for paddy farmers
Sri Lanka’s Government Information Department has reportedly stated that the government of Sri Lanka is to provide mobile and fixed dryers for paddy farmers. Local farmers have been forced at present to sell their harvest at ad hoc discounts due to moisture content.
The Cabinet of Ministers had approved the proposal presented by Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena, which was made on a request Sri Lanka’s Economic Reform and Public Distribution Minister Harsha de Silva.
Accordingly, Sri Lanka’s Department of Agrarian Services is to provide five farmer organisations dryers in co-operation with an association representing rice millers.
Each organisation will get a two ton mobile dryer costing Rs. 3 million and a five ton fixed dryer costing Rs. 6 million and they will be provided tax free, the Information Department has stated.
The dryers will standardise the moisture content of paddy and help farmers get the set price for paddy.
At the moment paddy from mechanical harvesters which have a high moisture content are being discounted on ad hoc basis, de Silva has been quoted as saying in the local media.
OSL take:
Sri Lankan authorities are looking at developing key economic sectors in the county with the aim of recording an overall economic growth. Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector has undertaken many steps to modernize and machinization of the industry. The sector has received funding from multilateral donor agencies to engage in such development programmes. The availability of funds along with the state policy on the developing the country’s agriculture sector have created many business/investment opportunities for foreign businesses/investors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/16082019/Z_1 |