The Hon. Amirthanathan Adaikkalanathan
Hon. Amirthanathan Adaikkalanathan welcomed the Private Member’s proposal by Hon. Rohana Bandara to establish an insurance scheme for farmers, highlighting the hardships faced by farmers in the North and East after war, displacement, poor harvest-time prices, debt, and natural disasters. He noted that existing insurance compensation is often delayed and called for a practical, timely scheme covering losses and risks such as elephant attacks, pesticide exposure, machinery accidents, and deaths. He argued that strengthening agriculture and fisheries as key livelihoods would support national progress and help affected farming families maintain dignity.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member. We welcome Hon. Rohana Bandara’s Private Member’s proposal to initiate an insurance scheme for farmers.
¶ 02 In the North and East, our farmers endured war and multiple displacements. Their lives remain poor and simple, without advancement. As stated earlier, proper harvest-time pricing is absent for paddy and vegetables, leaving them unable to recoup investments and facing losses.
¶ 03 In our regions, many farmers pawn even the “thali” (wedding) chain of their wives, their livestock, and their land; they take bank loans. When natural disasters strike, they incur losses. Even where insurance exists, compensation is not paid in time. We therefore support a truly implementable insurance scheme.
¶ 04 Farmers face elephant attacks, pesticide inhalation, and deaths while using machinery or from cardiac causes. Fisheries and agriculture are the two main livelihoods. If government treats these as the “eyes” of the economy and strengthens them, we can progress as a nation. With a proper insurance scheme, when farmers suffer, their families and children may continue to live with dignity. We thank Hon. Rohana Bandara for bringing this forward.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Friday, 10 October 2025 ·No. 22640 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Amirthanathan Adaikkalanathan. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 10 October 2025. No. 22640. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/13997