The District Agricultural Committee meeting was held on 08 September 2026 at the auditorium of the Kegalle District Secretariat, under the chairmanship of Kegalle District Secretary Mr. K. G. S. Nishantha. At the outset, the issues and problems discussed at previous committee meetings, as well as the letters received for consideration at the current committee meeting, were discussed.

The Deputy Director of Agriculture of the Provincial Department of Agriculture briefed the committee on the weather forecast issued in relation to the El Niño conditions expected during 2026/27. According to the forecast, heavy rainfall is expected from late October through November with the commencement of the 2026/27 Maha cultivation season. She pointed out that if paddy cultivation in the district is established at an early stage before this period, the washing away of paddy plants and uprooting of seedlings due to heavy rainfall could be minimized.

She further stated that, due to reduced rainfall, activities related to the Yala season had been delayed. As the Yala season is expected to conclude by 15 September and the Maha season is to officially commence thereafter, a considerable number of paddy fields in the district have yet to be harvested. Therefore, immediately after harvesting is completed, land preparation and crop establishment should be completed promptly with the onset of rainfall.

She also highlighted that dry weather conditions are expected by February 2027 and that preparations should therefore be made to commence harvesting of the Maha season crops during that period.

Parallel to the Agricultural Committee meeting held on the same day, the Environment, Land Use and Disaster Management Committees also convened to discuss issues and challenges prevailing in their respective fields.

An awareness programme was also conducted on sustainable agricultural guidelines recommended for paddy cultivation under the prevailing El Niño conditions. The guidelines included completing land preparation with the onset of rainfall and completing crop establishment before 15 October, in order to minimize the impact of possible flooding in November and drought conditions that may occur during January and March 2027.

The recommendations further included the use of three-and-a-half-month and three-month varieties whenever possible. For crop establishment, transplanting should be used for varieties of three-and-a-half months or longer. Seedling broadcasting methods such as parachute and dapog methods may be used for any age category, while nurseries should be established in locations that are not vulnerable to flooding.

It was also recommended that an additional nursery be maintained, only where necessary, to restore the plant population if it is reduced due to flooding. In the event that a crop is completely damaged by flooding, short-duration varieties of two-and-a-half months or three months should be selected for re-establishment of the crop.

As another measure to address the El Niño conditions, it was decided to implement pilot projects for establishing Protected Agriculture Cultivators’ Cooperative Societies (PACS). Under this programme, 10 members each will be selected from the three zones of Kegalle, Mawanella and Ruwanwella, resulting in a total of 30 participants. The promotion of protected-house cultivation and container cultivation was also identified as a measure to cope with the expected El Niño conditions.

Instructions were also given to Divisional Secretaries to take necessary steps to purchase the required tea plants for permanent planting in the field before 31 October.

According to the District Deputy Director of the National Fertilizer Secretariat, Mr. T. M. S. Tennakoon, a reduction in fertilizer prices has been observed at present. He further stated that 12 new fertilizer sales outlets are currently being established in the district, which will increase the total number of fertilizer outlets in the district to 78.

The committee also discussed the collection of information on pineapple growers in the district, as instructed by the Provincial Department of Agriculture, in order to register pineapple growers and compile producer information with the objective of targeting the Pakistani market.

Additional District Secretary (Lands) Mr. Dilip Nishantha, Divisional Secretaries, Provincial Director of Agriculture Ms. Nilma Rajapaksha, District Director of Agriculture Ms. Anoma Senarathna, Director of Planning Ms. Indika Senarathna, Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Development Mr. B. A. Chaminda Padma Kumara, representatives of the District Agricultural Farmers’ Development Federation, and officials representing the agricultural sector of the district participated in the meeting.