May 25, Colombo: Although the 2022 Yala season has already begun, farmers in all agricultural areas of the country are facing severe difficulties due to the lack of fuel needed to operate machinery for sowing crops, Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Agriculture, Wildlife and Wildlife Conservation pointed out.

Therefore, a special discussion was held at the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday (24) to expedite the preparation of a program to release fuel required for the Yala season cultivation.

Accordingly, the Director General of Agriculture handed over to the Minister a list of 217 selected fuel stations to facilitate the issuance of fuel covering all 25 districts of the country.

It was decided to issue the fuel required for sowing to the farmers through these petrol stations without hindrance.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Agriculture as per the order of the Minister of Agriculture informed the Minister of Power and Energy in a letter yesterday afternoon requesting the continuous issuance of fuel to the listed fuel stations.

Minister of Agriculture said he has discussed the issue with Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera, and the latter has agreed with him to provide even the extra fuel required for the Yala season cultivation.

Accordingly, farmers will be able to obtain the required quantity of fuel in the containers from the relevant authorized petrol stations by submitting a letter of approval from the Agrarian Service Centers for the fuel required to sow their paddy fields.

The 2022 Yala season has become an extremely crucial growing season since the paddy harvest has been halved due to the failure of the last Maha season. It is essential to make the Yala season a success, especially in order to obtain the seed paddy required for the 2022 Maha season. If the Yala season fails, there may be a shortage of seed paddy for the next Maha season, the Agriculture Minister explained.

Accordingly, the Minister of Power and Energy has informed the Minister of Agriculture that the fuel required for the Yala season will be immediately issued to the farmers through the selected fuel stations.