• No issues with funding, process will be finalised this week: Agi. Min. Secy.

Following complaints from farmers in certain areas about not receiving the fertiliser subsidy of Rs. 25,000 per hectare provided by the Government, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development assured that all subsidies would be credited to farmers by the end of this week.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has directed the Treasury to allocate an allowance of Rs. 25,000 per hectare to paddy farmers for the 2024/25 Maha cultivating season. Under this initiative, the fertiliser subsidy, previously set at Rs. 15,000 per hectare, has been increased to Rs. 25,000.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (5), Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, D.P. Wickremasinghe, said that Rs. 10 billion has already been disbursed among farmers. He explained that the process is lengthy and complex due to practical challenges in cultivation.

Wickremasinghe also emphasised that the distribution of subsidies must be carried out based on accurate and clear data, which takes time to gather. However, he assured that the delay is not due to a lack of funds. “There is no issue with funds. We have sufficient funds. That is not the reason for this delay. We will finalise everything by the end of this week,” he said.

The Secretary further mentioned that Rs. 20 billion has been allocated for the fertiliser subsidy, with the remaining half of the total allocation set to be disbursed by the end of the year.