New approach to palm oil harvesting

A W Gunawardhana - Matara Central corr

The first ever female harvesters at Nakiadeniya Oil Palm Estate. From left: W A K Samanthika, N G Anusha, W G S Sujeewa, K G Pathma and N G Pathminie

Palm oil, a pure vegetable oil used by many all over the world, is cultivated on a commercial scale at four regional plantations companies.

Palm oil was introduced to Sri Lanka in 1967. Nakiadeniya estate is the first plantation to cultivate palm oil in Sri Lanka. From then, palm oil production has gradually increased. After the privatization of plantations many initiatives have been taken by Watawala Plantations PLC to improve the agronomic practices to improve the productivity of palm oil .

Harvesting of palm oil was done traditionally by males. Watawala Plantations PLC in line with it’s vision has encouraged females for harvesting operations.