Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2015-12-16

Government's Intervention for having a Competitive Price for Mid-Season Green Gram Production

- The annual green gram requirement of the country is around 26,000 mt and Rs.851 million is spent annually for the importation of green gram. In order to minimize the importation cost, the green gram cultivation was successfully implemented in the mid season of the year 2015 under the National Food Production Programme. The farmers in the districts of Anuradhapura, Mannar, Kurunegala, Monaragala and Hambantota have produced around 3,200 mt of green gram. The present market price per kg of green gram is between Rs.120/- and Rs.140/- and that price is insufficient when it compares with the production cost. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Duminda Dissanayake, the Minister of Agriculture, to release the required funds as an advance, to the District Secretaries, through the Farmers' Trust Fund, subject to a maximum of Rs.50 million for the purchase of green gram paying Rs.180/- per kilo, with a view to encouraging the farmers, was approved by the Cabinet.