Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2019-02-05

Implementation of the Paddy Purchase Programme within the Maha Season of 2018/2019

- Harvesting activities of the Maha Season of 2018/2019 is scheduled to be commenced and it has been planned to implement the Paddy Purchase Programme in this season under the direction of the District Secretaries for maintaining a stable price for paddy and providing a reasonable price for the farmers for their paddy. As such, the Paddy Marketing Board and the District Cooperative Societies are scheduled to purchase paddy of Samba varieties for a certified price of Rs.41/- per Kg and Nadu and other varieties for a certified price of Rs.38/- per Kg. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, the Minister of Finance & Mass Media, to provide the required financial provision of Rs.5,000 million, for the implementation of the Paddy Purchase Programme of the Maha Season, was approved by the Cabinet.