Minister wants more lands under sugar cane cultivation

Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe instructed officials to bring more lands under sugarcane cultivation especially in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

He said new cultivations would provide new livelihood opportunities for persons being resettled in the areas affected by the conflict.

Minister Samarasinghe issued this instructions when he visited the Sugarcane Research Institute at Uda Walawe Friday. The Minister who is undertaking visits to all the institutions under the purview of his Ministry, engaged in an inspection of the Institute and was briefed on the work of the Institute.

He also engaged in an open dialogue with the Institute staff. The Minister was informed that only six to seven percent of Sri Lanka’s consumption of sugar was locally produced and that a significant sum in foreign exchange was being expended to meet sugar imports costs.

The Minister also discussed the challenges faced by the industry and the new opportunities for growth in the post-conflict period.

Minister Samarasinghe stressed that the Sugarcane Research Institute must look to expand its activities beyond merely scientific research and look to new areas of activity such as development of the industry, extension services and regulatory functions relating to sugarcane cultivation and the sugar manufacturing industry.

New amendments to the Sugarcane Research Institute Act were being finalized that would empower the Institute to undertake this enhanced remit, he added.

Minister Samarasinghe also instructed Institute officials to expedite work on five year action plan aimed at enhancing the contribution of the Institute based on the several policy documents that have been prepared aimed at supporting economic development in line with the Mahinda Chintana policy framework.

He expressed a wish to expand international bilateral cooperation with other sugarcane growing countries to boost the industry in Sri Lanka.

The Minister stressed the need to provide better research facilities for scientific and technical personnel to improve their performance and productivity. He also toured the research farm maintained by the Institute.

Plantation Industries Deputy Minister Salinda Dissanayake, Ministry Secretary Malini Peiris and officials of the Ministry and Sugarcane Research Institute were also present.