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A youth from Anuradhapura has set a record by earning the highest income from chili harvest.
Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries has stated that a young farmer in Tirappane in Anuradhapura district has cultivated chilies and has earned a high income by using the High-Density Cropping System introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Under the Agriculture Sector Modernization Project under the Ministry of Agriculture, this young man has grown chilies in a half an acre under the High-Density Cropping System and the amount earned is Rs. 70 lakhs. The amount of chili plants that can be cultivated in half an acre is about 6000 plants under the traditional method. However, the amount of chili plants that can be cultivated under this High-Density Cropping System is 13,000. Therefore, it is possible to increase the yield several times under this new method.
Due to the factors such as minimum amount of fertilizer and minimum amount of water is used, minimum amount of insecticides and herbicides are used, and there is no need to incur special expenses for weed control, due to the fact that the soil water is not evaporated due to the application of a polythene cover on the soil layer in this new cultivation method, this new cultivation method is beneficial to the farmer in all aspects.
Previously, a farmer in Jaffna had earned the highest income by growing chilies in half an acre. He had earned Rs. 50 lakhs by growing chilies in half an acre. That record was then broken by a young farmer from Anuradhapura itself. That young farmer had also earned Rs. 60 lakhs by growing chilies in half an acre.
A young farmer named Bandula in Anuradhapura has recorded the highest income by cultivating half an acre of chilies by now. The income he has earned in six months is Rs. 70 lakhs.
They have grown the two latest chili varieties MICH 1 and MICH-2 introduced by the Mahailuppallama Agricultural Research Institute and have been able to get the highest yield due to this chili variety.
