Govt to popularize parachute method among paddy farmers

Over three million parachute rice seed trays will be distributed to farmers during the coming Maha season, the Agriculture Ministry said. 

The Ministry initially will distribute Rs.490 million worth nursery trays to paddy farmers to implement the parachute method in 8461 acres of paddy land. 

The Ministry said this novel technique, popular in China to increase paddy yield, will be promoted in the country. 

Parachute rice transplanting method is a technique of tossing rice seedlings, uprooted from plastic trays containing a soil ball.

This method can reduce the use of seed paddy by 50 percent, can be used with minimal use of fertilizer and limit the use of herbicides for weed control. It also reduces the time spent on traditional rice cultivation and the income for a farmer per acre will be increased by Rs. 35,000 per acre, the Ministry said. 

“Despite the country’s financial crisis, the government made these allocation to benefit farmers by encouraging this method to increase production in the Maha season,” Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. 

The Ministry said parachute seed trays can be used continuously for 10 years (20 crop seasons). Four hundred trays are required per acre. For every tray purchased by a farmer, the government will provide three trays free of charge. 

This method will be widely promoted among local farmers under the Agriculture Sector Modernization Project of the Ministry of Agriculture.