The Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, Attorney-at-Law
Namal Rajapaksa asked why many farmers had not received the first Rs. 15,000 payment before the Maha harvest, noting that delayed support would not improve yields and that some farmers had been unable to plant due to weather anomalies. He sought clarification on promised relief, suggested that even Rs. 40,000 would help farmers replant, referred to reports of yellowing fields and Treasury funding constraints, and asked what measures would address possible crop losses and a resulting rice shortage.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Supplementary Question:
¶ 02 Many farmers have not yet received the first tranche of Rs. 15,000. In districts like Ampara the Maha harvest begins in weeks; late payments do not raise yields. Weather anomalies forced many to skip planting; the Government promised relief to such farmers. While you earlier proposed Rs. 100,000 when in Opposition, even Rs. 40,000 now would enable replanting. Media report many fields yellowing, especially in North Central Province. Also, at a recent District Development Committee meeting, the State Minister of Finance reportedly said the Treasury lacks funds to pay the Rs. 25,000. If harvest shortfalls cause another rice shortage, what relief will be given to farmers for crop losses, and what measures will you take to address the rice shortage?
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 8 January 2025 ·No. 1737023464031571 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 8 January 2025. No. 1737023464031571. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/27560