big harvest is expected for the Maha Season in Jaffna
www.defence.lk">As the Maha Season is the most favorable season for paddy Nthern Provincial Council has taken steps to develop the agriculture sector in the North.
For the Maha Season 29320 acres of paddy land was targeted to cultivate and 26000 acres of them have been cultivated so far. Expected harvest is 32611 MT of paddy. Target for onion cultivation is 4060 acres and so far 3047.5 acres have been cultivated. Expected onion harvest for the Maha Season is 24192 MT. Apart from this 1525 MT of chilies and 1195 MT of sesame are expected for the Maha Season and Plantain and grapes have also been cultivated in Jaffna District.
Under the guidance of His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Hon. Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Economic Development, with the support of Hon. Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Mr.Douglas Devananda various kinds of assistance such as seed paddy, fertilizer, tractors and financial support have been given to the farmers in order to increase production in the Maha Season.
It was revealed that arrangements have been made in Jaffna to store 32000 MT paddy harvested in the Kilinochchi District. Arrangements are also being made to provide storage and marketing facilities for the entire paddy crop and other crops of the Northern Province.
A meeting was held under the patronage of Hon. Governor, Northern Province, GA Chandrasiri to discuss the progress made in the agriculture activities in Jaffna District. The meeting was held at the Agriculture Training Center in Jaffna recently.
During this meeting it was discussed to upgrade the Agriculture Training Center. It was decided to recruit more employees if there is a shortage. The relevant Officials were requested to submit an action plan with cost estimate to upgrade the Center. Hon. Governor mentioned that Rs 20 Million could be allocated from the Provincial fund for this purpose.
It was also discussed to hold an Agriculture Exhibition in the Northern Province and the Hon. Governor requested the Officials to make necessary preparations for this.