Govt. boosts farmers with guaranteed price for potato, big onion and dried chillie

Saturday, 29 March 2014 00:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa presided over the inauguration ceremony on the implementation of the guaranteed price scheme proposed through the last budget. Accordingly, agreements will be signed between the potato farmers and the Lak Sathosa institute. The inauguration ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance and Planning yesterday.

With the target of 10% growth in the agriculture sector, the Government aims at achieving national food security, ensuring a reasonable price for agricultural products and creating an uninterrupted access to competitive markets both in Sri Lanka and abroad for value-added agricultural products. About 25,000 farmers are engaged in potato cultivation in the Nuwara Eliya and Badulla District. The livelihood of 250,000 people depends directly and indirectly on potato cultivation although the country still produces only 40% of its potato requirement which is about 12,000 metric tons per month. Sixty-five percent of local potatoes are grown in the Badulla District and the harvest is sent to the market in February and March. Potatoes grown in the Nuwara Eliya District reach the market in May. Although Sri Lankans consumed 200,000 metric tons of big onions per year, only 87,660 MT are produced, resulting in the country having to spend Rs. 6,000 million in foreign exchange on big onion imports. However local farmers are supplying 93% of the country’s red onion requirements.

Considering these facts, Government anticipates reaching 50% self sufficiency in potato, big onion and dry chillie production by 2015, targeting the transfer from a net food importing economy to a net food exporting economy and expecting to reach the export market by exporting the surplus production by 2020. Accordingly, action was taken by th

e Government to give a reasonable price for agricultural production by introducing guaranteed prices for potato, big onion and dry chillie crops. The guaranteed producer prices have been established at Rs. 80 for one kg of potato, Rs. 60 for one kg of big onion and Rs. 350 for one kg of dry chillie under the scheme. Further, the guaranteed produce price of one kg of seed potato has been established at Rs. 160 and the guaranteed produce price of one kg big onion seed as Rs. 12,000 in order to encourage the seed producers.