🥔 Cabinet Approves Direct Potato Purchasing Scheme to Support Farmers

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a Government-backed direct purchasing scheme to protect local potato farmers from falling prices during the peak harvest season in the Nuwara Eliya and Badulla districts. • Market Intervention: The Co-operative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) will buy potatoes directly from farmers to counter low farmgate prices currently driven by middlemen, which range between Rs. 200 and Rs. 220 per kilogram. Prices are projected to drop further as supply volumes rise. • Distribution & Caps: Purchased stocks will be distributed to Lanka Sathosa Ltd. for countrywide retail sale. To ensure fair distribution, purchases are capped at a maximum of 1,000 kilograms per farmer. • Agricultural Support: The initiative aims to safeguard rural incomes and secure the national food supply. It complements Sri Lanka's existing protective trade measures for domestic agriculture, which include an import levy of Rs. 80 per kilogram on imported potatoes. _Note: Based on official post-Cabinet briefing statements._