The first instalment of the Rs. 8,000 million grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for farmers to cultivate the Maha season will be credited to farmers' accounts within the next two weeks, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. 

The Ministry decided to offer a subsidy of between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 20,000 to each farmer who cultivates paddy during the Maha season, and the ADB gave the money as a non-repayable grant.

According to Minister Amaraweera, President Ranil Wickremesinghe requested that the ADB offer the aforementioned sum to the farmers of Sri Lanka.

There are 800,000 hectares of paddy land designated for paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka. According to the Minister, there are more than 760,000 hectares of paddy land that have been or are now being farmed.

Accordingly, plans have been made to credit Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 20,000 into the accounts of farmers who cultivate one hectare and two hectares, respectively, of paddy, according to Minister Amaraweera.

This scheme will credit farmers' accounts with Rs. 4,000 million today (29), and Rs. 2,000 million tomorrow (30). After January 1, the remaining Rs. 2 million would be deposited into the farmers' accounts.

However, the minister promised that all paddy farmers' money will be credited to their individual accounts within two weeks.