Agrarian Services Minister S M Chandrasena yesterday said Government would allocate Rs. 28.5 billion to purchase the paddy harvest of the 2011/2012 Maha season from the farmers.
He told The Island that Cabinet granted approval to a proposal made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to set aside Rs. 28.5 billion as a pledge loan to Paddy Marketing Board, District Secretaries, Cooperative Societies and the private sector to purchase paddy from the farmers.
He said that of the allocated amount Rs. 1.28 billion will come from the State Banks to the Paddy Marketing Board and Rs. 1.015 billion will be provided to the District Secretaries for the purchase of paddy.
Loans of Rs. 15 billion from the Bank of Ceylon, Rs. 5 billion from Peoples’ Bank and Rs. 1.5 billion from Regional Development Bank, will be provided to the private sector for the purchase of paddy. Another Rs. 2 billion will be allocated by State Banks for loans to the Co-operative Societies for the purchase of paddy.
The government estimates the total paddy harvest from Yala Season 2011 and Maha Season 2011/2012 to be around 4.5 million Metric Tons (MT).
With the expected paddy harvest in Maha Season 2012, there will be a stock of 3.2 million MT of paddy with the Paddy Marketing Board, the government says.
The annual consumption of rice in the country is around 3.54 million MT. and with the collection of paddy of the Maha and Yala Seasons 2012, there is to be a surplus of 1.01 million MT of paddy.
He also said that the Cabinet also granted approval to call for worldwide tenders to export the surplus of paddy and to utilize the stores complex constructed at Oyamaduwa under `Deyata Kirula’ for the storage of paddy. (IN)
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