To face future food crisis:
Public - private partnership vital
H.D.H Senewiratne
Public and private sector partnership could play an important role to
increase the productivity in the agriculture sector in order to face a
future food crisis, Managing Director CIC Holdings Plc Samantha
Ranatunga said.
Additional Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Dr.
D.B.T Wijeratne launching the web site while Managing
Director,
Samantha Ranatunga look on. (Picture by Sumanachadra
Ariyawansa) |
"Food and nutrition safety is important because our per capita income
has crossed the US $ 2,000 mark, yet 20 percent of households are food
insecure, which needs to be addressed," Ranatunga said at a news
conference which was organized by CIC Agri Business and the Ministry of
Agriculture. The day long conference is being sponsored by CIC Holdings
Plc, which would be held on October 17, at Waters Edge.
The conference hopes to raise issues surrounding the present global
food and nutrition security crisis, its implications for Sri Lanka and
potential local and global challenges. The organizers also hope the
event would identify short and medium term challenges and opportunities
for strategic actions.
He said that given the urgency, it's important that an emerging
economy like Sri Lanka, puts more efforts to focus more on sustainable
production models, enforce productivity improvement measures and assure
national food and nutrition securities to face any eventuality.
"If the government jointly works with the private sector, we could be
self sufficient in food and also new manifestations being created to
promote and attract food and nutritional safety to face future
challenges," Ranatunga said.
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr D.B.T Wijeratne
said that Sri Lanka has reached an important milestone in agriculture
during the last year by being self sufficient in our stable food and
main feed commodities, rice and maze, respectively.
He said that although caloric malnutrition was not prevalent in Sri
Lanka, he said that still Sri Lanka could face the daunting issues
related to nutritional security, especially protein and micro nutrient
deficiency.
To improve the nutritional levels of the people of Sri Lanka, we
should make most of agriculture produce, including cereals, pulse crops,
nuts, fruits and vegetables available year around at a reasonable price. |