National programme to promote indigenous food production

COLOMBO: The Government will launch a three-year food production war to promote indigenous food production through the intervention of the Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services Development Ministry.

Details about the implementation of this national programme titled ‘Let’s Grow-Rebuild the Country” were discussed at a meeting chaired by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Monday.

The country today spent nearly Rs. 100 billion annually to import 32 percent of its ford requirements. Apart from this Rs. 49 billion was spent last year alone to import milk products, fish, fruits, wheat flour and other food products.

A Presidential Secretariat release said the meeting also highlighted that Sri Lanka’s socio economic and cultural foundation had been based on agriculture from ancient times. Due to non acceleration of the production process in this field, the country’s food production process had suffered a setback in recent times.

Therefore the food production war should be launched according to a national plan with the participation of all sections of the community and the co-operation and contribution of all parties it was decided at this meeting.

Nearly 32 per-cent of the total population of 20 million were directly engaged in Agriculture as a vocation while 70 percent of the rural folk were engaged in agriculture related vocations.

However Agricultural production had not reached a sufficient level to meet local requirements fully. Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services Development Minister Maithripala Sirisena at this meeting said there were 730,000 hectares of land suitable for paddy cultivation of which nearly 13,000 hectares remained unutilised.

Out of 120,000 hectares available for cultivation of subsidiary crops 40,000 hectares remained unutilized.

Under this 3-year programme, it is hoped to cultivate 52,000 hectares of these unutilized lands during the Maha season next year with the active co-operation of State official, private sector institutions and all other sections of the people including people’s representatives.

It will be designed to promote the home garden concept, new production techniques including subsidiary crop and introduction of new crops.

President Rajapaksa said the country’s labour and land resources should be correctly identified according to the needs and utilised through proper management to achieve the desired results. He said the assistance and co-operation of the public and private sectors and all sections of the public should be sought for the success of this three year programme.

Ministers Karu Jayasuriya, Chamal Rajapaksa, G.L. Peiris, Dallas Alahapperuma, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Hemakumara Nanayakkara, Milroy Fernando, S.M. Chandrasena, C.B. Ratnayake, Bandula Gunawardena, Dharmadasa Banda, Jagath Pushpakumara, Susantha Punchinilame, Siripala Gamplath and Chandrasiri Suriyarachchi, Provincial Agriculture Ministers, Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunge, Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, three services Chiefs IGP and heads of several state and private sector media institutions attended the meeting.