Govt to provide incentives for plantation sector - President

To usher in economic development:

COLOMBO: The Government which heavily relied on agriculture to usher in economic development will provide all incentives and encouragement to develop the plantation sector and resolve problems encountered by industrialists in this sector, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The President gave this assurance providing over a progress review meeting of the Plantation Industries Ministry at Temple Trees on Monday. Plantation Industries Minister D.M. Jayaratne said the Government had made several achievements in the plantation sector during the last one and a half years. The income earned through tea, rubber and coconut exports too had recorded a sharp increase, he said.

A press release by the Presidential Secretariat said the Government had drawn up a 10-year development plan for the plantation sector under its Mahinda Chintana economic development programme. Problems encountered by tea, rubber, and coconut sectors and the progress achieved by them were discussed in detail at this meeting.

The countrywide programme to plant 3,000,000 coconut seedlings launched last year to uplift the coconut industry had made rapid progress it was revealed at this meeting.

The Coconut Research institute had introduced 5 high yielding varieties of coconut with the help of strains brought down from India, Papua New Guinea and Ivory Coast. 25,000 acres of newland had been brought under coconut cultivation last year with the Coconut Cultivation Board undertaking extension work in the North and East as well, it was revealed at this meeting.

The President inquired whether there is a feedback system to ensure that coconut seedlings distributed are cultivated properly. Coconut Cultivation Board Chairman said constant surveys are being done to ensure this and 89 percent of the 100,000 seedlings distributed in Moneragala, Gampaha and Anuradhapura districts had been planted successfully by the recipients.

It was revealed that steps have been taken to establish coconut nururies in Kantalai, Ampara and Vakarai under the Eastern resurgence programme and steps have been taken to bring 1,000 acres under coconut cultivation under the Janaranjana Wewa project and bring another 20,000 acres in Trincomalee and Thiriyaya under coconut. Steps have also been taken to distribute coconut seedlings among 5,000 families in Trincomalee.

Chairman of the revived B.C.C. Ltd said his Corporation had resumed production of 8 items of the 28 items produced by the defunct institution. BCC was saddled with the problem of funding to resume production of the balance 20 items. At this point President Rajapaksa directed the Coconut Development Minister to provide BCC with the funds for this.

The RRI had introduced 3 new rubber clones which can produce an annual harvest of 3,000 kilograms per hectare.

Tea production dwindled last year owing to the drought and the worker strike but foreign exchange earnings did not record a corresponding decrease owing to the stable prices reviewed for tea exports.

The Mahinda Chintana programme has launched many programme to uplift the tea industry. A project to modernise tea factories encourage production of value added tea and increase subsidies to smallholders are some of them.

The plantation Development Project had provided Rs. 81 million credit to tea factory owners to modernise 101 factories last year. The replanting subsidy had been increased by 25 percent.

The subsidy per hectare in up country and mid country areas increased from Rs. 160,000 to Rs. 200,000 and the subsidy per hectare in low country had been increased from Rs. 150,000 to Rs. 190,000.

It is hoped to increase the production of value added tea from 35 percent to 65 percent by 2010.

The President said only the management of State sector estates had been vested in Plantation Companies and as such attention should be drawn to ensure that they are properly managed.