Sri Lanka, July 14 -- Local farmers are very happy now following the launch of a formal government purchasing programme ensuring a fair price is guaranteed for paddy, Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said today(14).

The government allocated a very high provision to systematically purchase paddy during the Maha season, the Minister emphasised, speaking to the media at the launch of the cooperative member digital portal.

"We allocated 10,000 million rupees more for the year 2026 than in 2025. Even harvesting had not fully begun yet. In such a background, if anyone says that the farmers are unhappy, those posing as farmers must be someone else. But the real farmers are very happy now," he added.

The private sector also had to increase...