The Hon. Namal Karunaratne - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
The Deputy Minister presented written answers on agricultural production and productivity, defining their units of measurement and detailing the 2025 Budget allocation of Rs. 150 million for promoting other food crops. He outlined the crops and regions covered by the programme, including legumes, maize, sesame, finger millet, cashew and several yams, implemented through the Department of Agriculture, Mahaweli Authority and provincial agencies. He also tabled projected production increases for selected grains and yams from 2025 to 2027, noting data limitations for some small-scale crops such as Dioscorea, kiriala and innala.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 08 November 2025
¶ 02 Hon. Speaker, on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, I present the following answers.
¶ 03 (a) (i) Production is measured in kilograms or metric tons; productivity is measured as kilograms or metric tons per hectare.
¶ 04 (ii) Under the 2025 Budget, Rs. 150 million has been allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation for the promotion of other food crops.
¶ 05 Allocations and targeted crops by agency/region include: - Department of Agriculture: legumes (cowpea, soya, mung), sesame, finger millet, maize; yams (potato, manioc/cassava, sweet potato, Dioscorea spp., kiriala, innala/canna) - Mahaweli Authority: legumes (groundnut, cowpea, mung, soya), cashew - Northern Province: legumes (black gram/urad, mung, cashew, finger millet); yams (potato, cassava, kiriala, Dioscorea, innala) - Eastern Province: legumes (groundnut, cashew, cowpea, black gram, mung, sesame, finger millet); yams (cassava, sweet potato)
¶ 06 (iii) and (iv) Expected production increases (selected):
¶ 07 Grains (production in mt; allocation in Rs. million): - Groundnut: 2024 – 375,996; 2025 – 340,000; 2026 – 509,642; 2027 – 577,500; allocation 203.55 - Mung bean: figures tabled - Soya: 2024 – 910; 2025 – 1,321; 2026 – 13,035; 2027 – 17,600 - Finger millet: 2024 – 3,790; 2025 – 3,947; 2026 – 5,126; 2027 – 8,390 - Sesame, cashew: figures tabled
¶ 08 Yams other than potato (baseline 2024 mt; expected increase mt): - Cassava (manioc): 2024 – 356,125; increase by 5,000 in 2025; 8,000 in 2026; 10,000 in 2027 - Sweet potato: 2024 – 53,559; increase by 5,000; 8,000; 10,000 - Dioscorea yams: expected increases of 1,500; 3,000; 5,000 - Kiriala: increases of 1,000; 2,000; 5,000 - Innala (canna): increases of 1,000; 2,000; 5,000
¶ 09 Note: For Dioscorea, kiriala and innala, comprehensive production data are not formally available. However, these crops are already cultivated at home-garden and small scale levels with external market demand.
¶ 10 (b) Not applicable.
¶ 11 Answer tabled.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Saturday, 8 November 2025 ·No. 22727 ·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, 8 November 2025. No. 22727. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/6454