More attention would be focused for encouraging farmers in Anuradhapura District to take to maize cultivation in the forthcoming 2022/23 Maha cultivation season. Anuradhapura Government Agent Janaka Jayasundara told Daily News that it was envisaged to grow maize in at least 40,000 hectares for gaining a harvest around 200,000 metric tons.
He said that about 70,000 farmers are expected to join the district maize cultivation promotion drive. Jayasundara stated further that the Agriculture Ministry has decided to buy the maize harvest at the minimum price of Rs. 160/- or more per kilogram to do justice to the maize farmer, who have suffered cultivation losses at large during both the 2021 Yala and 2020/21 Maha cultivation season. According to him the maize yielding in last year’s Yala had been limited to 43,000 metric tons and in 2021/22 Maha too the harvest was reported very poor, causing many maize farmers to abandon the maize cultivation.
Jayasundara said further that the Food and Agriculture Organization was going to assist the Agriculture Ministry to promote the cultivation of maize green gram and soya mainly in the dry zone including Anuradhapura District in view of the efforts of the government to gain food security.
Anuradhapura District Fertilizer Secretariat Assistant Director Bandula Kumara said that the district needed minimum 10,000 mt urea for Maha Season maize cultivation. At present we have instructed the farmers to commence preparing land for maize cultivation. They will be provided urea fertilizer at the rate of Rs. 15,000 per bag on subsidized basis.
We have requested the interested farmers to get registered under the 43 agrarian development centres for receiving the subsidies being offered by the government for maize cultivation. It is learnt that already 30,000 hectares have been registered at the agrarian development jurisdiction level.
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