Parliamentarian Rohana Bandara stated that a situation has arisen today where farmers are unable to sell their harvest.

The MP made these remarks while participating in a press conference held at the Samagi Jana Balawegaya main office today (09).

The MP further stated that the government provides makeshift solutions instead of providing a permanent solution.

The Parliamentarian further pointed out:

The Government took steps to offer farmers the same paddy price that was implemented for three consecutive seasons.

The government must act immediately to fix a certified price for the harvest or provide compensation to cover the costs incurred by farmers to reap their harvest. But the government has no such plan.

Furthermore, to resolve this crisis, the government only fixed a price for purchasing paddy. However, a question remains whether paddy can actually be purchased from the market at that price just because a price was fixed. Additionally, warehouses are not emptied yet. Therefore, it is impossible to store the harvest. The funds required to purchase the harvest are not released yet either.

Because of the lack of storage facilities, the government requested farmers to keep their harvest stored. But farmers are forced to sell their harvest for a very low amount.

Moreover, because the current government imports rice, there is no proper price for the farmers' harvest in the market.

However, the government must explain how it calculate those prices.

If justice is not served to real farmers, the government will have to face a massive crisis in the future.

The Hector Kobbekaduwa Institute calculated the price of a kilogramme of paddy at 137 rupees. But farmers demand a certified price of 140 rupees. The government must take steps to provide at least the price calculated by a state institution."