by Norman Palihawadane and Anuradha Hiripitiyage

Farmers’ associations and political parties are flaying the government for its failure to set a certified price for paddy and leaving small-scale farmers vulnerable to exploitation by powerful rice millers.

Both the National Freedom Front (NFF) and the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) have blamed the government for prioritising the interests of the big-time millers over those of struggling farmers.

The NFF has accused the government of deliberately withholding a minimum price for paddy as a favour to millers who allegedly supported the ruling party during elections.

Karunathilaka Herath, leader of the NFF’s Farmers’ Wing, said, “President Anura Kumara Dissanayake claims to be the son of a farmer, but he has failed to offer a solution to the paddy crisis. The government has bowed not only to multinational corporations but also to five leading millers in the country.”

Herath said that the government had reneged on its campaign promise to support the agricultural sector. “A few months have passed since the government was formed, but farmers have been left to fend for themselves, just as they were under previous administrations. Paddy harvesting has already begun, but farmers are without a proper price for their produce. Prices vary widely from district to district, leaving farmers uncertain and desperate,” he said.

The Frontline Socialist Party’s Farmers’ Struggle Movement (FSM) said that the current system benefited millers disproportionately at the expense of farmers.

Addressing the media at the FSP headquarters, in Nugegoda, FSM National Organizer Vimal Wathtuhewa said: “Paddy harvesting is underway in key agricultural districts like Ampara, Batticaloa, Monaragala, Trincomalee, and Hambantota, but the government has failed to announce a guaranteed price. Mill owners are taking advantage of this and setting prices arbitrarily, leaving farmers with significant losses.”

Wathtuhewa said that the government’s allocation of Rs. 500 million for purchasing paddy, was inadequate to meet even four days’ worth of national rice consumption. Claiming that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had attributed the rice shortage to ‘data distortions’, Waththuhewa argued that the real issue was due to flawed decision-making and the government’s reliance on inaccurate data.

“Even with adverse weather damaging approximately 40,000 hectares, Sri Lanka can still produce around three million metric tons of rice annually, and that amount is enough to meet the country’s annual consumption requirement of 2.4 million metric tons. The idea that data distortions caused the rice shortage is misleading,” he said.

“Five major mill owners collectively release 1.2 million kilos of rice daily into the market, while the national daily rice consumption is 6.5 million kilos. If these mill owners withheld rice for just four to five days, it would create a severe food crisis,” he said.

Both Herath and Wathtuhewa called on the government to act immediately to protect farmers and ensure food security.

“The government was elected to serve the people, not a handful of powerful mill owners. It’s time to address the real issues and ensure farmers receive a fair price for their paddy,” Wathtuhewa said.