At 362, Bg 300 and Bg 352 paddy varieties introduced by Ambalantota and Bathalagoda Paddy Research Institutes were able to produce high yields in several districts.

The officials of the Department of Agriculture emphasized that At 362, Bg 300 and Bg 352 paddy varieties introduced by Ambalantota and Bathalagoda Paddy Research Institutes have been able to give high yields in several districts.

At present, the highest yielding At 362 paddy variety is cultivated on 17 percent of paddy lands. Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera, the Minister of Agriculture inquired the officials regarding the lack of proper knowledge of farmers on high yielding seed paddy and the majority of farmers still use part of the paddy they planted in the previous season as seed paddy for paddy cultivation.

The Minister of Agriculture stated that due to these factors it has not been possible to achieve the desired high paddy yield.

Minister Amaraweera recently went on an inspection tour to the Ambalantota Rice Research Institute.

Four farmers from Ambalantota, Ridiyagama area have recorded the highest paddy yield per hectare in the country in the 2022 Maha Season. They have cultivated the At 362 rice variety developed by the Ambalantota Rice Research Institute. Due to the said type of paddy, three farmers have obtained 11 metric tons of paddy per hectare and one farmer has recorded 10 metric tons of harvest.

In addition, the officials also said that they have received information that a large number of farmers have recorded the highest yield of rice by cultivating this paddy variety.

This yield is close to the international level for the highest yield per hectare recorded. Also, all the four farmers have used chemical fertilizers, organic fertilizers, burnt paddy husks and straw for paddy cultivation.

The Minister instructed the officials of the Department of Agriculture to provide a proper knowledge to the farmers regarding the suitable seed paddy for each area as well as the types of fertilizers and recommendations that can be used for that in order to get the highest yield from every paddy land in our country.

However, many farmers in our country still do not have a proper understanding of what kind of paddy can produce the highest yield suitable for their paddy fields, which has affected the inability to get a high yield.

Therefore, the minister also informed the officials to take steps to inform every farmer in this country about the varieties of paddy that can get high yield before this year’s Maha Season.

At present, the highest yielding At 362 paddy variety introduced by Ambalantota Paddy Research Institutes has been cultivated in several districts and has recorded the highest paddy yield. Similarly, Bathalagoda Paddy Research Institute has also introduced a number of highest yielding paddy varieties.

Meanwhile, the officials also informed the minister about the damage caused to the research farm due to some unauthorized constructions around the Ambalantota Rice Research Institute.  The minister informed the officials to provide a report on the said matter and also emphasized that he will give a solution for this issue having discussed this matter at the District Development Committee Meeting.