‘No certified paddy price, delayed fertilizer subsidy’: Sajith slams government for failing farmers
February 2, 2025 12:21 pm
The Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa criticized that the current government, which came to power with the votes of the farmers, has failed to provide even a certified price for the farmers’ paddy.
Speaking at a public rally held in Kurunegala, Premadasa said that the government has also failed to provide the fertilizer subsidy on time.
“They said that the certified price for paddy purchase will be made a legislation in the country. The ministers of the current government who promised a certified price of Rs. 150 for paddy, have now failed even to distribute the fertilizer subsidy of Rs. 25,000. This is the harvesting season, but the government hasn’t even declared a proper certified price for paddy”, Premadasa added.
“The government says that they have allocated Rs. 5 billion for the purchase of paddy, but they haven’t requested the Paddy Marketing Board to obtain that fund and to purchase paddy from the farmers.”
“On the other hand, a number of red-labelled containers have been released from the port. Who instructed to do this? The government says there’s no problem, and there are no illegal materials in these containers. We should ask the government how they say that without even inspecting these containers,” the Opposition Leader expressed.
