The 59th National New Rice Festival, or Aluth Sahal Mangallaya, began on Thursday under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake near the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura, Newswire reported.
The festival opened with blessings from the Maha Sangha, with farmers offering the first harvest of the season to the Buddha in a traditional ceremonial rite. The annual festival marks the arrival of new paddy and has been observed in its modern form since the 1960s as an expression of the bond between agriculture, Buddhism and the ancient irrigation culture of the dry zone.
Addressing the gathering, Dissanayake described agriculture as destined to become the “greatest part of Sri Lanka’s culture” and called the New Rice Festival its “pinnacle.” He said the country’s identity and culture are upheld through it.
The President said alleviating rural poverty is a core intention of his administration and that a clear legal deed is being prepared to confirm farmers’ land rights, an issue that has weighed on dry zone farming communities for decades. He also said the government has decided to restore Sri Lanka’s small and medium scale tank system, describing reservoirs as the “best example Sri Lanka can give the world regarding sustainable development.” He acknowledged that the restoration programme may face conflicts and criticism but said he would provide political protection for every decision taken by the Ministry of Agriculture in that regard.
The remarks come against a backdrop of acute pressure on the rural economy: cabinet has recently approved replanting grants for tea, rubber and coconut to households affected by Cyclone Ditwah, and the President’s April parliamentary package included Rs. 7.1 billion in fertiliser support for the Yala season.
Anuradhapura, where the festival is held each year, sits at the centre of Sri Lanka’s ancient tank-fed paddy system and is one of the districts the President has said will benefit from the planned restoration of small and medium reservoirs feeding irrigation networks.
