2nd phase of procuring vegetable & fruit harvest from farmers commences today

The second phase of the programme initiated by the Presidential Task Force on essential services to procure vegetable and fruit harvest from farmers affected by the prevailing situation will commence today (15).

The Department of Government Information said the second phase will be carried out in Anuradhapura, Badulla, Ratnapura and Hambantota districts on April 15 and 16.

This programme was implemented with the objective of providing relief to the farmers who are struggling to sell their harvest due to the ongoing island-wide curfew.

During the first phase of this programme, carried out on April 11 and 12, a total of 10 million kilos of vegetables were procured and distributed across the country, according to the Presidential Task Force.

The procurement process is continuing in a transparent manner without the intermediaries as the harvest is directly purchased from the farmers, the Task Force said further.