COLOMBO (News 1st); The Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera says that a program has been launched to cultivate Green Gram in paddy fields, which could not be cultivated previously.

According to the Department of Agriculture, more than 50% of the land expected to be cultivated during the Yala season has been harvested by now.

Director-General of Agriculture Dr. Ajantha de Silva said as of now 261,000 hectares of Paddy Fields have been cultivated, whereas, 500,000 hectares of land is expected to be cultivated during the Yala season this year.

Meanwhile, Mapalagama farmers say that they are facing severe difficulties due to the lack of fertilizer. They say that despite receiving organic fertilizers, the fertilizer has proven to be substandard.

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