The Commissioner General of Agrarian Development, Dhammika Ranatunga, says that there is no reason for concerns regarding delays or non-receipt of the fertilizer subsidy for the ‘Maha’ cultivation season.

He stated that the Department of Agrarian Development possesses adequate funds to fully implement the subsidy program.

Ranatunga further said that the fertilizer subsidy program for the ‘Maha season’ was launched on October 31, under which each paddy farmer will receive a financial subsidy of Rs. 25,000.

Speaking to the media, the Commissioner General also said that the subsidy will be disbursed in two phases.

He said the first phase of Rs. 15,000 will be released following the Seasonal (Kanna) Meeting, once the list of eligible farmers is finalized and submitted to the Agrarian Service Center. The remaining Rs. 10,000 will be provided as the second phase upon confirmation that paddy cultivation has commenced on the respective lands.

He further emphasized that the program aims to support approximately 1.4 million farmers, covering around 800,000 hectares of paddy land. The government has allocated a total of Rs. 20,000 million for the implementation of this program, the Commissioner General added.

Ranatunga also stated that Rs. 1,976 million has already been disbursed to 211,974 farmers under the fertilizer subsidy initiative so far.