The Ministry of Agriculture has decided to immediately implement a programme to safeguard the current rice stocks in the country in order to face a possible food shortage in the future due to the prevailing drought.
Accordingly, Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera has advised the Secretary of the Ministry Gunadasa Samarasinghe to immediately suspend the use of rice for the production of animal feed and beer.
The Minister also advised to submit a letter informing this to the Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and the Presidential Committee on Food Safety.
Cultivated paddy lands in several districts have not been grown yet. Due to the prevailing drought, the farmers may face the issue of not having enough water to grow crops.
(Lankadeepa)
