Country's annual Green Gram requirement is around 26,000 MT and Rs. 851 million is expended annually for the importation of Green gram. To minimize this expenditure green gram cultivation was successfully implemented in the intermediate season. Farmers in Anuradhapura, Mannar, Kurunegala, Monaragala and Hambantota Districts have produced about 3200MT of green gram.
The current price of green gram is Rs. 120.00 – 140.00 in the market and is not sufficient with the production cost.
Therefore, the proposal made by DumindaDissanayake, Minister of Agriculture, to provide funds subject to a maximum limit of Rs. 50 million for to relevant District Secretaries through the Farmers’ Trust Fund to purchase a 01 kg of green gram per Rs. 180.00 as a means of encouraging farmers, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.