Farmers in Ampara must seriously think of growing more cash crops as the change in weather patterns in the Ampara District helps such crops grow.The shift from cultivating paddy to potatoes would help to bring in more money to the country’s paddy farmers, and the farming community can profitably utilize the highlands for the cultivation of potatoes,” Deputy Director of Agriculture, Nimal Dayaratne said. “We experienced a change in climatic patterns in Nuwara Eliya for a few months and that helped the farmers there to get a bounteous yield by adjusting the rotation of crops accordingly. Deputy Director Dayaratne continuing said, “Forty years ago Ampara experimented with potato cultivation but we gave it up for a variety of reasons, and are happy that we were able to have a successful crop with Canadian support. The interest of the farmers and the devotion of our officers have helped to obtain the desired yields. We hope to expand the cultivation programmes in the future.”
