Minister Mahinda Amaraweera says 800,000 hectares of paddy has been cultivated during the current maha season, and a record 500,000 hectares of paddy was cultivated during the last yala season.
The Minister making a special statement said, a large quantity of paddy is available in storages maintained by the government from the yala season.
He said the President has issued directives to purchase paddy in a systematic manner that does not hinder the farming community, adding that efforts in this regard are underway with the assistance of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant units.
However, Minister Amaraweera charged that the opposition is currently driven by elections and is disregarding the needs of the farmers.
The Minister said the Election Commission has stated that Rs.10 billion is required in order to conduct the Local Government Election adding that with the money spent on the election by candidates the expenditure of the election amounts to Rs.30-40 billion.
The Agriculture Minister said the Rs.10 billion allocated for the election can be utilised to purchase paddy from farmers at a reasonable price.
He noted that an official of the Ministry of Finance had also stated that difficulties could arise in making the funds available for the conduct of an election.
Therefore he claimed that farmers concerns and the general publics concerns must be prioritised over the conduct of an election, adding that the Local Government Election is not an election that will overthrow the government.
Minister Amaraweera also stated that elections are demanded by political parties and not by the masses, highlighting that the public is demanding a reduction in the cost of living.
