COLOMBO, 11 November 2022 – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with funding through USAID, is planning to distribute 9,300 MT of Urea to smallholder paddy farmers cultivating paddy on land holdings up to 2.5 acres in Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Monaragala districts with less than Rs. 41,500/- in permanent monthly income.

The distribution list of eligible farmers has been published and displayed at Agrarian Service Centres under the Department of Agrarian Development. FAO invites all eligible paddy farmers from the eight districts to visit their respective Agrarian Service Centre and ensure their details have been incorporated. The distribution lists will be displayed until 18 November 2022, and the date of fertilizer distribution will be shared through the Agrarian Service Centres.

The 8 districts for the distribution of Urea were selected from amongst the districts in the dry and intermediate zones based on the highest reduction in yield in the 2021/2022 Maha season identified in the FAO-WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Report.