Parliament will debate a supplementary estimate of Rs. 7,500 million on Friday, seeking approval for the money the government needs to buy paddy during the 2026 Yala season.
The Committee on Parliamentary Business, meeting on Thursday under the chairmanship of Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, allotted the debate an hour, from 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. An adjournment motion to be presented by the government follows, scheduled from 1.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Money already voted, redirected
The estimate does not ask Parliament for new money. It seeks authority to move Rs. 7.5 billion out of allocations already made for 2026 to projects and programmes of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation — funds the ministry expects to leave unspent this year — and apply them to paddy purchase payments instead.
Ada Derana cited a statement from Parliament’s Department of Communication.
Reallocating unspent votes in this way avoids adding to the year’s borrowing, and has become a routine instrument for the government this year. Parliament approved a Rs. 20 billion supplementary estimate without a vote in June.
The Yala backdrop
Paddy purchasing is the government’s main lever for holding up farm-gate prices at harvest, when supply peaks and private millers can bid prices down.
The Yala season has already drawn substantial state support this year. In June the government funded a 75% fertiliser subsidy for Yala paddy at a cost of Rs. 8,990 million.
The purchase programme also runs against an unusually difficult agricultural year. Forecasters have warned of the strongest El Niño in 75 years heading into the Maha season, and drought conditions have persisted across several districts through August.
