Cashew cultivation enhanced

The State Resources and Enterprise Development Ministry have implemented several programs to enhance cashew cultivation islandwide.

These programs are being implemented in the Puttalam, Kurunegala, Moneragala, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Matale, Polonnaruwa, Mannar, Vavuniya, Hambantota, Badulla, Ampara and Ratnapura Districts.

Under these programs cashew cultivation is subsidised and Home Garden Development for cashew cultivation is encouraged, to increase local cashew production with supply of input for cashew growers.

As a part of this program cashew processing training centres with lodging facilities have been established at Kiran, Mangalagama, in the Batticaloa and Ampara Districts. The growers are trained in batches of 50 each at these centres.

Under the subsidy scheme, Rs 89.13 million has been given to nearly 20,000 cashew growers to cultivate cashew in 8,389 hectares, while under the Home Garden Development Project, plans have been made to establish 20,750 home gardening units.

The Ministry has also undertaken to develop seed gardens and model farms at a cost of Rs 34.3 million covering a land area of 136 hectares targeting to supply one million budded cashew plants annually.

These Farms have developed six new varieties of cashew and processed tissue cultured plants.

During the period from 2006-2009 in the Kurunegala district the Ministry has implemented planting over 19,000 new cashew plants in estates in the Dathusenapura, Hiriyala Katugampola, Wariyapola, Kurunegala and Narammala areas in the district, under the Kurunegala Plantation Limited of the Ministry.

Also steps have been taken to encourage growers to process cashew with value added product development and establish entrepreneurs on cashewnut processing to maximise the profit of processors and growers and introduce new product development and business ventures. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation has also developed a Wood Preservative based on Cashewnut Shell Liquid.

It has been determined that this Wood Preservative is a non-toxic environmental-friendly wood product and the Corporation is looking out for investors to produce this on a commercial basis.