Govt. ready to buy paddy for higher price than guaranteed price: Prez

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the government was ready to buy paddy for a higher price than the guaranteed price if there was any reduction in the yield due to the use of organic fertiliser.  

Therefore, he said the farmers should not have any fear in the initiative taken. The President said that the government  was ready to bear the cost to ensure that the consumers purchased rice for the existing prices.  
The President expressed these views at a meeting with the members of the ‘Presidential Task Force on ‘Creating a Green Sri Lanka with Sustainable Solutions to Climate Change’ held at the Presidential Secretariat Tuesday(11).  President Rajapaksa said that the decision to start using organic fertiliser was taken towards endowing a healthy future generation to the country.  

The “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” policy framework stated that the whole agricultural sector of the country should be transformed to use organic fertilisers entirely, he said.  

“It is the responsibility of the Government to act in accordance with the pledges made to the people. Previous governments had tried to popularise the use of organic fertilisers but had not been able to sustain the practice,” the President said.  

”This is a challenging task; a difficult one, but it should be done on behalf of the country after identifying the correct strategy,” he added.  

The President further stated that the government  was ready to provide the necessary facilities if the companies that imported chemical fertilisers started producing organic fertiliser.  Taking part in the discussion, President’s Special Representative and the Chair of the Task Force- Mr. Basil Rajapaksa said, “Some battles had been lost in the mission to save the country from terrorism. However, finally, the country succeeded in defeating terrorism. Similarly, the government is ready to ensure the peoples’ right to a non-toxic meal by overcoming all the challenges.”