Protest by potato farmers in Keppapetipola

A farmers' protest organised by the All Ceylon Farmers' Organisation, demanding that the government obtain a proper price for the potato crops grown in the Welimada area and to stop the import of foreign food potatoes, was held in front of the Keppapetipola Economic Centre today morning. 

Potato farmers from around Boralanda in Welimada joined the protest.

The protesters who gathered near the Keppetipola Lanka bus Depot displayed protest signs and marched in front of the Economic Centre.

Although the shops at the Economic Centre were open, they were prevented from bringing in produce from the Welimada vegetable farms. 

However, vegetables such as pumpkin and drumsticks had been brought in from outside areas such as Dambulla. 

Although several traders from outside areas had come, the traders said that they were unable to purchase the vegetables they needed.

Chanting slogans such as "Sleep well, the potato farmers are on the road", the protesting farmers entered the Economic Centre and began a protest march. 

The OIC of the Welimada Police, Chief Inspector Sampan Abe Wickrama, instructed the organisers of the protest to ensure that the protest does not block the main road outside the Economic Centre, as the General Certificate of Education (AL) examination begins at 12 noon, and to ensure that the protest ends by that time.

Chief Organiser of the Boralanda Potato Vegetable Farmers' Association Mr. Premasiri Ranasinghe (74) said
Potato farmers have been facing a severe economic crisis for a long time. But we have been waiting for a solution from this government. 

He said this government, like other governments, are working while forgetting vegetable farmers.

' This time, due to the higher price of foreign potatoes than in previous years, we have not been able to get a proper price for our potato harvest and we have requested the responsible people of the government to save the farmers from this situation. All they did was increase the import tax. This only resulted in the traders exploiting another consumer. Due to the increase in the cost of potato cultivation, the farmers are turning away from potato cultivation and turning to other vegetable cultivation, and the prices of those vegetables are also falling, and all vegetable farmers are suffering'.

'We are talking about seed potatoes, which have to bear a very high cost to protect the local potato farmer'.

By K.R.RAJAMNTHRI