The Hon. Gayan Janaka
Hon. Gayan Janaka attributed Sri Lanka’s economic and agricultural difficulties to past corrupt administrations and noted that, despite over eight million people being involved in farming, agriculture contributed only 7.98 per cent to GDP in 2023. He said the Government is increasing the fertilizer subsidy to Rs. 25,000 with a Rs. 20 billion allocation, restoring Paddy Marketing Board storage and procurement with Rs. 5,000 million, and restarting production using Eppawala phosphate. He stated that these measures are intended to strengthen agriculture, improve food security, and restore Sri Lanka’s position as a major agricultural producer.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Please grant me two more minutes, Hon. Presiding Member.
¶ 02 Who brought the country to this state? The corrupt rulers of 76 years. Over eight million of our people are farmers, yet agriculture contributed only 7.98 percent to GDP in 2023. We are rapidly changing this. We have increased the fertilizer subsidy from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000, allocating Rs. 20 billion for it. We are rehabilitating and building Paddy Marketing Board storage, restoring the Paddy Marketing Board with Rs. 5,000 million to purchase paddy from farmers, and restarting industry using Eppawala phosphate. We are steadily addressing issues as a responsible Government.
¶ 03 In a short time, we will elevate agriculture, restore the “Granary of the East” legacy, and make Sri Lanka prosperous. We invite the people to join us in making Sri Lanka a leader in food security in Asia. Thank you.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 23 January 2025 ·No. 1738314169039521 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Gayan Janaka. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 23 January 2025. No. 1738314169039521. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/10587