The Hon. Rohana Bandara

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Minister, although funds were allocated in the Budget for driers, I have not seen any practical deployment yet. This season the impact on farmers was severe. Budget allocations are not translating into action. Also, fertilizer subsidies are provided through your Ministry; what is the progress of the second-phase fertilizer subsidy? You identify the problems, include them in the Budget, but implementation is lacking.

¶ 02 Warehouses have been there since 2015 and have stalled at six. You proposed driers in last November’s Budget, yet not a single drier has been installed. Why is there no continuous process? When daily problems arise, you seek ad hoc fixes; nothing continues. Fertilizer subsidy has also stalled. Fertilizer prices are uncertain; with the war situation, urea is selling even at Rs. 18,000 in some places. What protection will you give? There is also an issue of fuel for smallholder crops like jak and arecanut—no access to lamp oil for processing. Will you implement practical measures on harvest marketing, production inputs, and fuel?