Southern development:

Farmers derive greatest benefit

The unprecedented development in the Southern Province would not even have been dreamt of had it not been for the tenure of office of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Export Development and International Trade Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said in Hambantota.

He was speaking at a ceremony to distribute agricultural equipment to 750 farming families in the area recently.

“The main reason why Sri Lanka was able to achieve positive growth in her economy at a time when the economy and the banking system, in particular, of more prosperous countries was tottering was the robest performance of the agricultural sector”, he said.

The contribution of agriculture to the gross national product had increased by more than four percent during the last year, the Minister said.

This was due to the welfare measures the government had implemented without interruption during a difficult period when resources had to be found for effective military action against terrorism and for development projects on a large scale, he said.

Prof Peiris pointed out that, despite the strongest pressure from foreign sources, President Mahinda Rajapaksa made fertilizer available at significantly subsidized prices when prices in the world market were soaring.

The farming community in Hambantota is reaping rich rewards from this far-sightedness, he said. Ports and Civil Aviation, Irrigation and Water Management Minister Chamal Rajapaksa said value addition into agricultural products to have access to international markets is a priority objective at this time.

Minister Rajapaksa commended the agri village concept, and said current initiatives to improve the quality of seed material and greater sophistication with regard to methods of production and marketing were bringing higher incomes within reach of the farmers of the area.

He said the non-governmental organization, ASB, had rendered useful service in this field and expressed appreciation of their work.