Seven million coconut saplings to be planted

Ridma DISSANAYAKE

The Mahaweli Authority will plant seven million coconut saplings in the Mahaweli Zones to increase coconut production in the country.

Sources said this measure will help increase coconut production by 12 percent.

The Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development Ministry has made a six year plan to increase coconut production in the country to produce an annual yield of 3.65 billion nuts, ministry sources said.

The ministry has already setup several nurseries in the Mahaweli Zones to supply saplings to the new growers. These saplings are to be distributed free of charge.

At present the coconut growing areas in the country is about 400,000 hectares and they are producing 2.728 million nuts as their annual yield.

Sri Lanka earns a considerable amount of foreign exchange through exporting coconuts, shells and other coconut products.

The coconut production contributes to 1.1 percent of the country's GDP and it is the source of income for 5 percent of the population.