In order to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in rice, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed the Ministry of Agriculture to take all necessary measures to double the rice cultivation in the country in the next 6 growing seasons.
Currently, Sri Lanka is self-sufficient in rice, but the fact that it is not possible to get the same harvest from all the rice fields all over the island has caught the attention of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The average yield of paddy in this country varies from 2.5 to 4.5 metric tons of paddy per hectare and farmers in some districts have recorded up to 11 metric tons.
The government is focusing on increasing the yield of rice cultivation in Sri Lanka as well as maintaining a high international demand for Sri Lankan rice by improving the quality of rice.
Therefore, the President has also instructed the farmers to introduce new technology and implement special programs to increase the yield of paddy. The President also said that the government will provide the necessary financial and technical provisions.
Currently, the paddy area in Sri Lanka is eight lakh hectares. The amount of rice cultivated in two seasons is 1.3 million hectares per year. The total paddy yield is about 52 lakh metric tons. The amount of rice that can be produced is 3.1 million metric tons and 2.4 million metric tons of rice is required for annual consumption in this country.
Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that although there is enough rice in the country, the government’s goal is to increase rice production in the country with the aim of enabling the people to consume rice at the lowest price by implementing the government’s food security program. .