The Northern Province has recorded a nearly 60 percent increase in cultivated lands in the last year (2010), the Secretariat of the Northern Province Governor said.

Accordingly, the amount of lands that came under the plough increased by 130,422 acres last year. The total cultivated land in year 2010 was 221,818 acres while in 2009 it was only 91,396 acres, statistics revealed.

In the Yala season, farmers of the Province cultivated 8,893 acres and during the present Maha season they cultivated 212,925 acres.

"Two new paddy storage facilities would be opened in the province as we expect a huge increase in the Maha season harvest," Northern Province Governor Maj. Gen. G.A. Chandrasiri said.

Meanwhile, many projects are underway throughout the province to repair and reconstruct the irrigation network, the Governor said. With this the Government plans to assist farmers to cultivate nearly 35,000 acres of abandoned arable land in the province, black gram is cultivated across 19,786 acres in all five districts of the province and ground nuts are cultivated in 7,231 acres. Red onion is grown in 4,709 acres and chilies are grown in 4,329 acres while cowpea is cultivated across 4,729 acres.