The government has turned its focus toward delivering a relief package comprising essential food items to low-income families in anticipation of the upcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands, and Irrigation, K.D. Lalkantha, along with the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security, and Cooperative Development, Wasantha Samarasinghe, convened with members of the Food Policy and Security Committee for the third time at the Parliament Complex. The meeting aimed to formulate policy decisions to ensure food security during the festive season.
Key discussions centered on preventing shortages of essential food items and stabilizing their prices throughout the Sinhala and Tamil New Year period. The budget for this year has allocated Rs. 1 billion to supply essential food items to low-income families at subsidized prices. The meeting also examined the optimal utilization of these provisions to maximize their impact.
Additionally, measures were discussed to minimize price fluctuations of essential commodities in the market and to reduce the prices of bakery products.
The committee also addressed the procurement of paddy, with a follow-up review on the volume of paddy purchased under loan facilities extended to mill owners. Reports indicated that some mill owners had misused the loans, diverting them to other purposes. Consequently, officials were instructed to investigate these irregularities.
It was further revealed that several large-scale paddy mill owners have obtained bank loans exceeding Rs. 15 billion for paddy purchases. Given this, the government has set a target of purchasing 250,000 metric tons of paddy this season. The discussion also emphasized the need to encourage small-scale mill owners to participate in paddy procurement and to ensure a stable supply of rice in the market.
Expanding the cooperative and Sathosa network to provide essential commodities at subsidized prices was another focal point. The committee also explored mechanisms for establishing price controls to create a more consumer-friendly market.
The meeting was attended by Secretary to the Prime Minister, G.P. Saputhanthree, Senior Additional Secretary to the President, Kapila Janaka Bandara, and other members of the Food Policy and Security Committee, including ministerial secretaries.
