25 December, 2016
The Finance Ministry has released Rs. 7 billion to the Agriculture Ministry to be distributed among farmers to purchase fertilizer for the Maha season.
The government will pay cash directly to paddy farmers instead of selling fertilizer at a subsidized price. Farmers will receive Rs 25,000 per hectare for each Maha and Yala seasons separately to purchase fertilizer. This has enabled the government to reduce the operational cost of the fertilizer subsidy scheme.
For next year too, the Government has allocated Rs 55 billion for the purchase of fertilizer. The money will be directly debited to the farmers’ accounts after the request has been received from the Agricultural Ministry.