The Hon. (Ms.) Harini Amarasuriya
A total of 606,992 farmers are eligible for the fertilizer assistance scheme, with district-wise details tabled in the Library. The assistance covers the period from 1 October 2024 to 15 February 2025, with the Rs. 25,000 payment divided into two tranches; only the first Rs. 15,000 tranche has been paid so far in line with Election Commission guidelines, and further disbursement is continuing based on district requests. The Government plans to develop a fairer structured mechanism for future fertilizer support after consultations with farmer organizations, including direct delivery to fields, and intends to provide 25,239.73 metric tons of Muriate of Potash free for the 2024/2025 Maha season.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 (a) The district-wise number is 606,992 farmers. Detailed information is placed as Annex 01 in the Library.
¶ 02 (b) The assistance period is from 01 October 2024 to 15 February 2025.
¶ 03 (c) The Rs. 25,000 fertilizer assistance is to be paid in two tranches: Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 10,000. In accordance with Election Commission guidelines, only the first tranche of Rs. 15,000 has been paid so far to all districts, with variations by district. Details are placed as Annex 02 in the Library. Disbursement continues within 01 October 2024 to 15 February 2025 based on district requests.
¶ 04 (d) For future seasons, the Government intends to implement a fair and structured mechanism to meet fertilizer needs. Consultations with farmer organizations are ongoing; after review, a decision beneficial to farmers and the sector will be taken and Parliament informed.
¶ 05 (e) Under the structured mechanism being prepared, fertilizer assistance will be delivered directly to farmers’ fields. Additionally, for 2024/2025 Maha, beyond the cash support, the Government plans to provide 25,239.73 metric tons of Muriate of Potash (MOP) free of charge.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 8 January 2025 ·No. 1737023464031571 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Ms.) Harini Amarasuriya. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 8 January 2025. No. 1737023464031571. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/27559