President Maithripala Sirisena has given instructions to the relevant parties to provide 50 percent subsidy in seed potatoes for farmers who grow potatoes in out of season. He gave these instructions during the progress review meeting of the National Food Production Programme held at the Presidential Secretariat, on 31 October. During this meeting it was discussed in detail regarding the future activities of the programme as well as about taking policy decisions.

The President also said to implement a special programme jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade to limit the importation of potatoes into the country during the seasons of potatoes cultivate in the country. President Sirisena said that a special programme will be implemented in the future to provide paddy seeds for the farmers who were affected by the drought situations prevailed in the country during the past one and half years .

The President inquired the officials regarding the strike carried out by the veterinarians in these days and instructed the officials to immediately take steps to solve their issues. When issuing of licenses to transport cattle through the District Secretariats it is a must to obtain the certificate from the veterinarians, and during this period of strike, if there is any such licenses were issued through the District Secretariats, the President instructed the District Secretaries to submit a report in this regard to him.

It was discussed in detail regarding the progress of the programmes implemented by the Ministries of Agriculture, Mahaweli Development and Environment, Fisheries & Water Resources, Rural Industries, Irrigation under the national food production battle. The National Food Production Programme will be implemented as a three year plan and it was discussed to take forward this programme jointly with the Grama Shakthi People’s Movement.

The President pointed out the importance of giving priority for these programmes in the agendas of the District Coordinating Committee Meetings as well as in the Regional Coordinating Committee Meetings, and said that the District Secretaries should be the pioneers in the development, not only in the administrative activities. He also emphasized the importance of the contribution of local government politicians in these initiatives.

The President said that all should give priority for the National Food Production programme and instructed the officials to conduct the programme of selecting the Best Farmer in 2017-2018 Maha Season under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Mahaweli Development. Ministry Secretaries including, the Secretary to the President Austin Fernando and the relevant officials participated in this meeting.