The Hon. Namal Karunaratne - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
On behalf of the Agriculture Minister, the Deputy Minister stated that 1,987.2 hectares are under banana cultivation in the Ratnapura District, involving 3,019 families in Ambilipitiya and the Chandrika Wewa Division of the Mahaweli Walawa Special Area. He acknowledged that seasonal market gluts and fruit price fluctuations reduce banana farmers’ incomes. He said the Ministry and Mahaweli Authority are promoting exports, value-added production, concessional credit, and subsidies for wells, bunch covers, pumps, tissue-culture plants and ladders, with Rs. 18.62 million spent for 169 beneficiaries, while exporters currently pay about Rs. 150 per kilogram for quality Ambul bananas.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 On behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, I answer:
¶ 02 (a) (i) Areas under banana cultivation in Ratnapura District:
¶ 03 - Ambilipitiya (under Provincial Department of Agriculture): 404.2 hectares - Chandrika Wewa Division of Walawa Special Area under Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority: 1,583 hectares - Total: 1,987.2 hectares
¶ 04 (ii) Number of families engaged: - Ambilipitiya (Provincial Department of Agriculture): 911 families - Chandrika Wewa Division (Mahaweli Authority - Walawa Special Area): 2,108 families - Total: 3,019 families
¶ 05 (iii) Yes. Due to market price fluctuations for fruits, particularly when large volumes enter the market seasonally, banana prices often drop, affecting farmer incomes.
¶ 06 (iv) Measures: - Promote exports of bananas and encourage value-added banana-based products by facilitating suitable entrepreneurs. - Implement concessional credit schemes through State banks under the Ministry to support agri-entrepreneurs; under the Food Security and Technology Programme, provide 50% government support to mitigate costs for banana cultivation. - Under the Mahaweli Authority’s Agri-Export Village Programme, coordinate with private entities (Ceylon Fresh Fields (Pvt) Ltd and Dole Lanka (Pvt) Ltd) to promote export of Ambul bananas. - Currently, exporters pay around Rs. 150 per kg for quality Ambul bananas, higher than depressed domestic prices. - Incentives provided to improve quality and export readiness include: • Assistance for construction of agri-wells: 84 beneficiaries; Rs. 200,000 each; total Rs. 16.8 million • 50% subsidy for banana bunch covers: 7 beneficiaries; Rs. 0.243375 million • 50% subsidy for water pumps: 5 beneficiaries; Rs. 0.2242 million • Support to farmers using tissue-culture plants/more resilient planting material: 14,850 plants supported; 33 beneficiaries; Rs. 0.7515 million • 50% subsidy for aluminium ladders for bunch covering: 40 beneficiaries; Rs. 0.60 million • Total beneficiaries: 169; Total expenditure: Rs. 18.62 million
¶ 07 (b) Not applicable.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 19 March 2026 ·No. 23381 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Namal Karunaratne - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 19 March 2026. No. 23381. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/30082