The Hon. Rohana Bandara

¶ 01 A Fair Guaranteed Price for Paddy

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I move the following Adjournment Motion:

¶ 03 “When assuming State power, the present Government gave the farming community thousands of expectations and promises. Chief among them was purchasing paddy at a fair guaranteed price.

¶ 04 However, paddy is not being purchased at a fair price as declared by the Government, and the controlled price imposed by the Government is insufficient, so farmers say they are unable to dispose of their harvest.

¶ 05 Current problems faced by farmers include failure to receive fertiliser subsidies on time, increased fertiliser prices, and failure to receive timely compensation for crop damage. Therefore the Government has not properly examined the problems faced by farmers.

¶ 06 Accordingly, as the Government declared, a fair guaranteed price must be given for paddy to resolve the people’s current difficulties.”

¶ 07 This is not a new issue. Successive Governments invested heavily in irrigation — canals, tanks — and provided facilities and even free fertiliser at times. Yet farmers face uncertainty: droughts in some seasons, floods in others; when crops fail they have no stable income. Most of our consumers are rice consumers, so when protecting consumers the farmer does not get a fair price. When in Opposition, even you demanded Rs. 54 per measure; but in Government, balancing consumer and farmer means the farmer often loses, given acre costs versus yields. Farmers rely on the two seasons — Maha and Yala — to live six months on one harvest’s income. If the income does not even cover inputs, what other income do they have? Despite these sacrifices, they bring us harvests.

¶ 08 In the last Maha, low yields due to rain caused higher market prices, but in Yala more Naadu is cultivated and Naadu did not get a fair price. You set a controlled price of Rs. 120, opened stores, deployed officers and funds. Yet farmers did not bring their paddy there. Then, in practice, they sell at Rs. 90–100, and milled rice at Rs. 110–120. Since December, I kept saying: before fertiliser subsidies, focus on paddy purchasing. It still has not happened, while Maha is about to begin again. We need a fair mechanism so farmers receive a just price; mere arguments are useless. Without a practical mechanism, even your administered price will not reach farmers.

¶ 09 A key practical problem: harvesting by combine (“boothaya”) leaves high moisture; wet paddy cannot be stored by the Government; farmers lack drying facilities. Some dry on carpeting roads, but then are stores ready to accept quickly? Labour is scarce and costly. Hence farmers sell at the field for Rs. 8–10 less. The State is intervening, but not fairly or practically. Either raise the price to a fair level, or bring State agencies closer, even to field-level purchasing with advance payments and drying support. Many farmers cannot even pay the harvester hire without selling immediately. Create an honest, practical system.

¶ 10 Do not work to just tick boxes; focus on a fair process so both farmer and consumer are treated justly. Rice prices will otherwise rise next month. We can protect consumers by practical solutions. Let us stop posturing and act as a State. I move that we all commit to ensure a fair price for paddy.