Task force to develop handloom industry
A first for Sri Lanka:
A National Level Task Force (NLTF) has been formed for the
development of the handloom sector and to prepare a viable business
model for it on a high priority basis.
"The Task Force is a national level effort and will infuse the
Private Public Partnership model to this sector. It will give value and
professional structure to it. It will also lead to a centralised
National Handloom Coordinating Centre, create the essential roadmap for
the development of this promising sector and will promptly begin to
implement its targets starting from mid-January 2012," Industry and
Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said.
Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the pioneering meet of the high
level taskforce on 22 December at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce,
where representatives from the USAID, National Entrepreneurs Development
Authority (NEDA), University of Moratuwa, Export Development Board,
Department of Textiles, Sri Lanka Institute of Textile & Apparel, joined
together to map out the future direction of the promising Sri Lankan
handloom sector.
"The overall objective of the Task Force is to identify the
challenges and issues of the $ 13 million handloom industry in Sri Lanka
and propose an appropriate Business Model for sustainable development
it," Minister Bathiudeen said.
"We should diversify our handlooms basket further. We need to
minimise yarn import prices for the industry to be profitable. We also
need to introduce many more private sector players to supply quality
yarn for the industry," Minister Bathiudeen said.
"The weavers should now start to earn a decent, if not an attractive
earning for their efforts which are a key focus of the Task Force. The
Task Force will also oversee capacity building of 100,000 Lankan
handloom personnel in the next three years so that the Human Resource
void could be overcome," Minister Bathiudeen added.
Industry experts and pioneers have already warned of the dearth of
second generation skilled weavers once the current weavers vacate from
the industry. Lack of recognition is a major reason for the youth to
stay away from this promising industry.
The Task Force will review its progress in the first week of January
2012 and will begin implementing the initial recommendations before the
end of January itself. |