The government plans to introduce a loan mechanism to help small and medium-scale paddy mill owners buy paddy from farmers at a fair price, following talks with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday.
The meeting focused on drawing smaller millers into the effort to hold paddy prices steady and secure fair returns for farmers, the President’s Media Division said.
What millers told the President
Mill owners set out the difficulties they face in buying paddy and in dealing with banks under the “Odapana loan” scheme. They proposed that money for paddy purchases instead be channelled through District Secretaries or Divisional Secretaries.
The millers said they have sufficient milling capacity, and argued that a working scheme would let them guarantee farmers a stable price while keeping rice affordable for consumers.
Rs. 120 floor price, 4,000kg cap
Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe said discussions would be held with District Secretaries to set up a mechanism for lending to small and medium-scale millers.
Under the proposal, paddy is to be bought from farmers at a minimum of Rs. 120 per kilogramme, with purchases from any individual farmer capped at 4,000 kilogrammes per hectare. Samarasinghe said millers must keep detailed records of both the stocks bought and the farmers involved, and that those records would be inspected regularly.
The scheme is to cover registered small and medium-scale mill owners initially, with the money repaid to the government once the rice is sold. Millers who complete the programme successfully could be offered similar concessions in future seasons.
Recovery problems flagged
Finance Ministry officials pointed to difficulties in recovering money lent under earlier government-backed paddy purchasing programmes. Under a previous arrangement, the government lent funds for millers to buy paddy and was then obliged to buy that paddy back.
Mill owners welcomed the proposed scheme, saying it could bring back small and medium operators who have left the industry.
Those present included Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation K.D. Lal Kantha, Minister Samarasinghe, Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Paddy Marketing Board Chairman Manjula Pinnalanda, Finance Ministry officials and mill owners from several districts.
