Soya bean farmers call for relief over loss of crop
Thursday, 27 June 2013 01:24
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By Lakmal Sooriyagoda
The soya bean farming community in the Galenbindunuwewa area is urging the Government’s immediate intervention to provide relief over loss of cultivation by low quality seed provided by a private company.
The Secretary of the Hurulu Wewa Joint Farmers Association H.M. Upali Ekanayake said that about 4000 acres of soya bean cultivation under the Hurulu Wewa irrigation scheme had been badly affected by low quality seed soya bean and the situation had led to a lower harvest in the Yala season.
Ekanayake said that providing low quality seed soya bean for farmers could be considered as a conspiracy that works out to deter local soya bean production and encourage imports.
“Normally, we expect to harvest 1000 kilos of soya bean from an acre and it will be reduced up to 300 kilos per acre this time. The Department of Agriculture has given its approval to a private company in providing seed soya bean among farmers. The cultivated soya bean plants take 18 days to flower and grows approximately 15 pods in a single plant but generally, a soya bean plant normally takes 35 days to flowering and grows about 100 pods,” he said.
Ekanayake further said that the low quality seeds were vulnerable to bacterial diseases causing slow growth of the plants.
He finally said that the Farmers Association was urging the Treasury Secretary and Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture to immediately intervene into the matter.
He further said farmers under the Hurulu Wewa irrigation scheme had cultivated soya bean on 6000 acres this season and expecting a harvest of 6,000,000 kilos.
Most pre-packed meals and soy vegetable oil are some of the products produced from the soya bean crop.
Soya bean meal is considered as a source of protein for animal feed.
