India assures support to strengthen local agriculture

India has agreed provide high quality seeds to Sri Lanka for cultivation purposes. This was after the Sri Lankan side requested the Indian Agriculture Minister Shri Sharad Pawar for expertise in methods to enhance agricultural productivity and raise food production and noted that providing high quality seeds could make a visible and tangible impact in the agricultural sector.

Foreign Minister, Rohitha Bogollagama, along with the Minister of Agriculture, Maithripala Sirisena and the Minister of Livestock Development, C. B. Ratnayake met with the Union Minister for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution of India, Shri Sharad Pawar on the sidelines of the High Level Conference on World Food Security, convened by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome, Italy last week (3rd June 2008). The Indian delegation to this Summit was led by Minister Sharad Pawar and the Sri Lankan delegation was headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Sri Lanka delegation discussed with the Indian side, the global food situation and food security in the region. It was noted that unforeseen and unpredictable rise of food prices could lead to the disruption of normalcy, particularly in developing economies which are most vulnerable.

Minister Bogollagama stated that at present, Sri Lanka faces scarcity of rice due to supply constraints. Minister Pawar responded by saying that since independence, the supply of rice had not been an issue, but due to an increase in demand, the prices of rice in India too had risen.

Both delegations agreed to consider suitable options to address the phenomenon of soaring prices of staple commodities, particularly rice in the South Asian region. Dealing with issue of achieving price stability of key food commodities such as rice, the Sri Lanka delegation suggested that procurement of these items for a period of at least three months would ensure price stabilisation.

Livestock Development Minister C.B. Ratnayake raised the issue of quarantine of about 200 buffaloes, which Sri Lanka has requested from India. In this regard, Foreign Minister Bogollagama inquired whether India could extend assistance in quarantining the livestock, before being sent to Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan side expressed interest in obtaining Indian assistance to establish a liquid milk processing plant in the Eastern Province. Minister Pawar stated that the National Dairy Development Board of India could consider extending assistance in this regard. Both sides acknowledged on the vital need for a Food Bank in the SAARC Region.

The Foreign Minister briefed the Indian delegation on recent developments in Sri Lanka, particularly the full restoration of democracy in the Eastern Province following the successful holding of Provincial Council elections.