Following the success of the fuel QR code system, the Government is developing a QR code system for farmers to provide them with the relevant allowances and subsidies.
Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said the Government is planning to incorporate modern technology into agriculture.
“We are currently developing a QR code system for farmers to provide them with relevant allowances and subsidies seamlessly. Additionally, we have already discussed reducing the price of herbicides by 10% in the future. We are also exploring the possibility of introducing a third season for cultivation, in addition to the current Yala and Maha seasons. The third season has already commenced in the Hambantota district, where it is being cultivated as an alternative crop, rather than paddy. We encourage farmers from other districts to apply for this third season as well.,” he said.
The Minister expressed these views at the national new paddy harvest festival, known as the ‘Aluth Sahal Mangalya’, held at the historic Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya in Anuradhapura under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
“We are also planning to incorporate modern technology into agriculture. Our goal is to transition crops that traditionally required 2.5 acres to grow to a more modern, efficient system that can be achieved in just half an acre of land. We have successfully promoted the cultivation of sour bananas as an export crop, and we are currently exporting one container of sour bananas every Saturday. We aim to increase this export volume to two containers by next month,” Minister Amaraweera said.
The national new paddy harvest festival is a longstanding tradition where the first harvested paddy of the Maha season is offered to the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya.
The event was organized for the 56th time by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Agrarian Services, under the guidance of the Chief Incumbent of the Atamasthana, Venerable Pallegema Hemarathana Thera.
Farmers from different parts of the country attended the traditional ceremony with the hope of receiving blessings from nature and the Triple Gem. Their wish was for timely showers, bountiful harvests, and a prosperous economy for the country and the nation. (Colombo Gazette)
Post a Comment