Sri Lanka, June 29 -- As the Yala season paddy harvest has commenced in Ampara District, farmers have appealed to the Government to purchase their harvest at a fair and guaranteed price.

Ampara District normally cultivates around 65,000 hectares of paddy during the Yala season. However, due to a severe shortage of irrigation water this season, cultivation was limited to only about 45,750 hectares.

With harvesting now underway, farmers say they are being forced to sell their paddy at very low prices, resulting in heavy financial losses. They have also staged protests to draw the authorities' attention to the issue.

During the last Maha cultivation season, the government fixed the guaranteed purchasing prices at Rs.120 per kilogram for N...