A meeting between Governor of Northern Province Dr. Suren Raghavan and the representatives of the Agricultural Organizations of the Kilinochchi District was held on 11th July 2019 at District Agricultural Training Center of Kilinochchi.
The Governor arranged this discussion to learn about the challenges and needs of the farmers of Kilinochchi District as Yala harvest season has approached.
The farmers said that as the water of Iranaimadu Tank was able to manage properly, they could do paddy cultivation four times more likely to the usual acreage. They requested the Governor that they need a storage facility for the harvested paddy and appropriate method to market the rice.
They also pointed out that many farmers face economic crisis during the harvesting period because they have to pay the rental fee for the harvesting machine and the wage for the machine operator. They requested the Governor to provide them with loans during that time.
Governor sent a directive to the relevant officials to discuss with Northern Provincial Agriculture Department and to take necessary steps to establish barns at suitable places and he also instructed Secretary of Agriculture Ministry K.Theivendran to renovate the existing barns in the province. He also said that action would be taken after discussing with the relevant authorities to ensure that the paddy is sold at a reasonable rate without affecting the farmers.
At the same time, Governor said that he has decided to arrange loan facilities to the farmers during the harvesting time through Provincial Cooperative Banks. He advised the Agriculture Secretary to look into the matter and take immediate action.
The Governor mentioned that he welcomes the “Farmers’ Market” concept. This method would enable farmers to directly sell their products to consumers without intermediaries. He pointed out Farmers’ Market is more popular in the developed countries. He also requested the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss with farmers to identify the suitable places where the farmer’s markets could be established in the North.
Secretary to the Provincial Agriculture Ministry K.Theivendran and representatives of Agricultural Organizations of Kilinochchi District were present in this meeting.
