# Smallholder Agribusiness Partnerships

Strengthening Dimbulagala Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society to Develop Farmer’s Seed Paddy Cultivation

Total Project Cost

RS. 27,930,945.00

Locations of the Project

Polonnaruwa

Number of Beneficiaries

100

Background of the Proposed Project

Problem Statement

At present, seed paddy farmers sun dry seed paddy on tarred roads, therefore, the seeds tend to get mixed with other types of paddy and also get damaged by the vehicles. It clearly revealed that the farmers are not in a position to dry their seed paddy to meet required market standards. Therefore, about 40% their current production is used for household consumption and sold locally at low prices. Therefore they are receiving lowest profitability from paddy seed farming which affects the interest on continuing the farming. Also, paddy cultivating farmers too are struggling to get high-quality seed paddy required for their cultivation due to inadequate supply of quality seeds, lack of knowledge on seed paddy production due to poor transfer of knowledge between agriculture extension services and farmers. At present, 53 seed paddy cultivating farmers are registered with DMPCS. However, only in the range of 30 to 35 farmers qualify to supply seed paddy for a season. The key constraints faced by DMPCS are that farmers are unable to supply enough quantities to cater to the existing demand. Lack of modern processing equipment for seed paddy cleaning and grading facility is a biggest problem of DMPCS. This ultimately causes the lower quality seed paddy and higher wastage during the processing.

Proposed solutions

Supply of parachute plates for 100 selected seed paddy farmers is one of the key solutions to economize paddy planting which will ultimately help get a good harvest and earn a good profit. The parachute paddy cultivation increases the average harvest by 750 Kg/hectare/season/farmer. Also, assistance to purchase tarpaulin tents for 100 farmers will help in minimizing damages caused to seed paddy during sun drying. The farmers will be able to dry their seed paddy in their own premises. The third solution is to provide a grant of Rs.15,000/- for each farmer to purchase a grass cutter machine to clean bunds which will help reduce the cost of production. The forth solution is a cultivation loan of Rs. 42,641/- per seed paddy farmer to cover the working capital. This revolving loan will be provided under the SAPP loan facility at a concessionary interest rate of 6.5% p.a. from Regional Development Bank (RDB) throughout the project period of three years. These measures will gradually improve the seed paddy supply by an individual farmer from the current level of 60% to 95% by the end of third year of project.

Overall objective of the proposed project

To enhance the living standards of the seed paddy farmers in the proposed project area by improving the production/harvest of seed paddy and also the quality and standards of seed paddy. This will help the cooperative society to align the supply with the market demand.

Specific objectives of seed paddy farmer organization

Investment Plan

Social Impact

• Positive impact on foreign reserves of the country.
• Increased living standard of the farmer.
• Social enterprise in operation for betterment of the village society.