Finance Ministry to facilitate sustainable purchasing system for farmers

Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake said that the Government has taken speedy actions to drive the traditional agro basedeconomy into manufacturing economy with foreign investments to create one million job opportunities in times to come. 

In this context, he urged that it is the responsibility of the relevant State-owned enterprises to create a competitive market environment with State intervention for the farmers to get a good price for their produces.

The Minister also emphasised the needs of shifting the policy of protectionism given for agricultural produces into competitive market environment where producers of all major crops are assured one-third of their production cost of the crops as profits with state intervention.

The Finance Minister made this observation when he met a group of farmer representatives of Mahaweli H Zone in Huruluwewa in the Anuradhapura District who producemaize and soya bean. Agriculture Minister Duminda Dissanayake and Minister of Rural Economic Affairs P.Harison had accompanied the representatives of the farmer organisationsof Huruluwewa. Secretary to the Treasury Dr. R.H.S Samaratunga, Anuradhapura District Secretary and several other related Government officials were present at the meeting held at the Finance Ministry.

Dissanayake said that the Government has geared up a two pronged system of strengthening the local farmers while making the country self-sufficient in agricultural produces. Presently soya bean is cultivated in 10,000 hectares in the Mahaweli H zone. It needs to be expanded to cover 15,000 hectares if the country is to be self-sufficient in soya bean. But due to non-availability of quality seeds it could not be done. Minister Dissanayake said that the Agricultural Ministry would purchase 3% of the produces to use as the seeds for the next harvest.

Minister Ravi Karunanayakepromised to give the fullest support of the General Treasury for a sustainable purchasing system connecting the farmers directly with the relevant industries. As suggested by Minister Karunanayake, Dissanayake and Harison promised the farmer representatives that the Government would make the relevant intervention through the Paddy Marketing Board and the Food Promotion Board to arrive at a direct purchasing mechanism by the Ministry of Health to purchase soya bean from the Mahaweli H Zone farmers for the production of triposha. 

The Ministers after having discussed the matter with Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne over the phone agreed to submit a joint Cabinet proposal to reach a tripartite agreement with the Health Ministry for the direct purchase of soya bean from the farmers in the Mahaweli H Zone.

As at present the annual production of soya bean is little over 8000 MT and the Health Ministry would need 5,000 MT for manufacturingtriposha. The Agricultural Ministry through its Food Promotion Board would also make the intervention to sell the produceat the farm gate to industries to extract oil while 3% of the produce will be purchased for seed promotion and a sizeable portion also goes to the market for consumption.