On 28.01.2026, a field day event for paddy cultivation under the Parachute Method under the PSDG 2025 project and the Paddy Variety Promotion Project under the guidance of the Bathalagoda Paddy Research and Development Centre was held at Parasankulam village in the Puliyankulam Agricultural Instructor Range under the leadership of Technical Assistant K. Thurupathan. The event was attended by the Deputy Director of Agriculture of the Seeds and Planting Materials Development Centre, the Officer-in-Charge of the Seed Certification Service, the Deputy Director of Agriculture, Subject Matter Officers, Agricultural Instructors, Representatives of farmer organizations and farmers.
Following the welcome address by the Technical Assistant, the farmer’s field was visited. During this, Mr. E. Thanabalasingam, a farmer who has practiced parachute rice cultivation, gave a practical explanation to the farmers regarding the preparation of the Nursery bed using the parachute method. Following this, Technical Assistant Mr. K. Thrupathan explained to the farmers about the height, yield, maturity period and other characteristics of the rice varieties of Bw 312, At 313, Bg 369, Bg 374, Bg 375, Ld 376, At 378 and Bg 409 cultivated under the Paddy Variety Promotion program.
Following this, Mr. C. Kajaruban, the Subject Matter Officer for Paddy Crops, gave explanations regarding the production cost in parachute rice cultivation to the farmers. Subsequently, Deputy Director of Agriculture Mrs. J.M. Muraleetharan expressed her appreciation to the farmers who had adopted the parachute method of rice cultivation and advised them to adopt the parachute method of rice cultivation in the coming season and said that with the aim of encouraging it, a subsidy would be provided through the Provincial Specified Development Grant through the Provincial Department of Agriculture. Following this, Deputy Director of Agriculture of the Seeds and Planting Materials Development Centre Mr. R. Sanjeepan explained to the farmers about the characteristics of the rice varieties Bw 312, At 313, Bg 369, Bg 374, Bg 375, Ld 376, At 378 and Bg 409 and advised them to engage in self-seed production using the parachute method. The event concluded smoothly at 12.30 pm.
