• Claim Eastern Province farmers who have begun paddy season haven’t received fertiliser 

Farmers’ groups claim that despite the Yala farming season already being underway and expected to continue over the next few months, farmers are yet to receive the fertiliser subsidy allocated for paddy cultivation.

“This year’s Yala farming season has begun. The sowing of paddy in the Eastern Province has concluded, and the plants are now one to two weeks old,” National Agrarian Unity organisation President Anuradha Thennakoon said. He added that despite this progress, the fertiliser subsidy has still not been provided to the farmers. 

Farmers in the Eastern Province have not received either the first round of fertiliser or the related subsidies and they are still in the process of completing the required application forms, according to him.

He explained to The Daily Morning yesterday (16) that even in other districts, paddy fields irrigated by small and large reservoirs should be cultivated by 30 April, and that sowing has already commenced in several of those areas. Thennakoon expressed concern that under these circumstances, farmers cultivating approximately 500,000 acres of paddy fields in those areas have not received the fertiliser subsidy.

He blamed the relevant agricultural officials for the delay, attributing it to poor planning which he said is a longstanding issue. Noting that the fertiliser issue has continued despite Government changes, he emphasised that the failure to provide the subsidy has impacted the previous farming season as well.

Attempts to contact the Agriculture Ministry in this regard were not successful.