Fifty percent subsidy given to farmers on seed potatoes would be increased to 100 percent- President
President Maithripala Sirisena says steps will be taken to increase the fifty percent subsidy given to farmers on seed potatoes up to 100 percent.
The President further said that additional steps will be taken to completely stop the re-export of tea considering the damage caused to the reputation of Sri Lankan tea at the international level as well as taking into account of the downfall in the tea industry of the country.
Accordingly, steps will be taken to completely stop the re-export of pepper in the future in order to protect the local farmers as it caused to reduce the price of pepper.
The President made these remarks addressing a public rally held in Badulla yesterday (28).
‘Even though he has put the responsibility of the management of the economy of the country on the shoulders of the United National Party(UNP), considering the oppression the people of the country going through, steps will be taken in the future to manage the economy of the country through the National Economic Council appointed by himself’, said the President.
Whatever is said by the political parties that come in front through many façades, the SLFP has the responsibility of the agenda to build a nation deprived of fraud, corruption and malpractices, said President Sirisena adding that all should hold hands with the SLFP towards the path of transformation that is essential to the country.
The President who stated that the SLFP is built today around a clear opinion of people said that SLFP has become the party which has won the public opinion of people.
This public rally was held in Badulla to ensure the victory of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance including the SLFP under the Patronage of the President with a huge gathering of the public.
Senior vice President of SLFP Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, State Mnisters Dilan Perera, Lakshman Seneviratne ,Provincial Minister Senthil Thondaman and many others present in the meeting.
(President’s Media)
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If the subsidy on seed potatoes is to be increased from 50% to 100%, will seed potatoes be distributed free of charge to the farmers?
If blending of teas with imported strains of teal leaves is prohibited, the tea export industry will collapse within days!
Some people who have decided to takeover management of the economy, have gone bonkers. All that was gained over 70 years will evaporate within minutes.
I suppose all these pronouncements on economic matters are being made that our nation consists of citizens who are dummies. I think some people are shocked at the public reception for the ‘pohottuwa’ initiative of the genuine opposition to the Yahapalana Government.
when the colonist left sri lanka was endowed with with a viable industry with deep roots in plantation management and marketing. In additionn of the he tea controller montored the whole procesess of montoring all aspects of the tea cultivation replanting, fragmentation fertiliser subsidies and export promotion. Research and development were done through the TRI and the RRI. Nationalisation of the tea estates led to the dysfunction of the controllers and with it the structure. The slfp government found the plantatons a fountain of employment for their political supporters through the pllantations corporation, the JEDB and an agency to ,mobilise the abandoned tea estates in the kany and meda mahanuwara.
JEDB and SPC ran up colosal losses and survived through outright subsidies which was inevitable for more than 35 percent of the revenue income was spent on management.
The managers and the families had a rollicking time while production and quality of teas were fast declining.
The government raised dollars through the ASian Developmnet Bank to rehabilitate the estates and that was a big farce for the rehab work nver achived the project goals. The proposals were illconcieved for they were cluless as to how the estates were strucgtured
and eventually the government came up with the idea of privatisisng the plantations. Agencies like John Keels, Bartleets and and few others and their subagents joined the rat race to run the. With the increasing costs the sustainability of the estaes remains a mystery.
So mr sisrisena the estates should be allowed to run on the profits faailing they ought to run as coo peratives distributing the land to the plantation workers and the sinhala villages from whom the land was originally robbed by the colonials.