Sri Lanka’s largest granary with state-of-the-art facilities constructed in Buttala, Moneragala, is to be declared open on the 31st of this month, a Finance Ministry statement said. The opening ceremony of the granary will be held under the patronage of Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake. The project funded by the World Bank was constructed at a cost of Rs.260 million. According to the ministry statement, 20,000 metric tonnes of grains can be stored in the complex and grains trucked to the facility will be subject to strict quality control process to ensure durability.

“When farmers bring in their grain harvest, the manager of the warehouse complex, having determined the quantity and quality of the stock, will issue a receipt, which can be furnished to any state bank and 50 percent of the value of the stock can be obtained as an advance,” the statement noted. During the cultivation seasons, where there are buffer stocks, the surplus stocks can be stored at this facility.

Subsequently, these stocks will gradually be released to the market. The Finance Ministry said with the granary coming into operations, farmers were guaranteed of a higher price for their produce as the middlemen were eliminated through this process. Farmers can also keep their stocks of grains at the facility until market prices reach higher levels.

The first such facility in Sri Lanka was established in Galenbindunuwewa, Anuradhapura and a similar complex is now under construction in Mannar. Further, the Finance Ministry has planned to construct three more granary complexes in Kilinochchi, Polonnaruwa and Embilipitiya this year in line with its overall plan to ensure a better deal for local farmers. The government through its Budget 2016 allocated Rs.1 billion for this. Sri Lanka is expecting a record rice production of 2.93 million metric tonnes in the current major cropping season (Maha), up 7 percent from the average over the last three years.