The Hon. Namal Karunaratne
Hon. Namal Karunaratne said the Government had considered international experience and developed measures suited to Sri Lankan agriculture, including expanding insurance coverage for all farmlands, ensuring timely compensation, and providing concessional credit to farmers and affected persons. He referred to the suspension of the farmers’ pension fund from August 2012 to January 2014 under the previous Government, noting that court action was needed to restore it and that unpaid pensions caused hardship. He said the current pension remains inadequate, with a Rs. 50 deduction, and that the Government would address these issues through a programme to protect and improve farmers’ welfare.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 We value the Leader of the Opposition’s suggestions. We have studied international experiences and formulated measures suited to our agriculture. We will uplift farmers significantly; we have the plan, program and vision. We aim to bring all farmlands under insurance, ensure timely compensation, and provide concessional credit to farmers and affected people on fair terms.
¶ 02 Further, the farmers’ pension fund was suspended from August 2012 to January 2014 by the then Government; we had to struggle and go to court to reinstate it. During that time great injustice occurred as pensions were not paid for two years. Even now, the pension amount is meagre, and Rs. 50 is deducted from it. We will address these concerns and develop a program to protect and elevate our farming community.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 17 December 2024 ·No. 1734685396083959 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Namal Karunaratne. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 17 December 2024. No. 1734685396083959. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/18131