Boost for cashew cultivation

Irangika RANGE

The Government is planning to increase the fertiliser subsidy to promote cashew plantation by encouraging more farmers to produce quality cashew nuts which has a big high demand in the international market.

“The proposals are being obtained from cashew cultivators and project officers to formulate a proper mechanism to increase the fertiliser subsidy given to cashew farmers”, Supplementary Plantation Crops Development Minister R.M. Dharmadasa Banda told the Daily News.

The Minister expects to forward these proposals for Cabinet approval.

He said cashew cultivators are granted a fertiliser subsidy of Rs. 9,500 and a number of requests have been made by cultivators to increase the subsidy.

The Ministry is implementing this programme to help cashew farmers and to make Sri Lanka among the top 10 cashew manufacturing countries, Banda said.

He said the Government has put forward a five-year accelerated programme to develop the cashew industry and under this, cashew cultivations will be expanded upto 58,741 hectares which is only 41,741 hectares.

It is also planned to increase cashew nut shell production upto 50,000 mt by 2016 which is only 11,655 mt now.

The Minister said five cashew seed gardens will be set up in 246 acres. There are only three cashew nuts processing centres across the country and under the accelerated programme, the centres will be expanded to five. “We are concerned not about the promotion of cashew nut products but also about the improvement of cashew by-products including cashew nut shell liquid, cashew wine and cashew apple products which are additional income generating avenues,” he said.

The Government with the intention of promoting cashew plantation in the North and East provinces have planted 24,574 cashew plants in 390 acres in Marnkerni in Batticaloa.