Govt. to raise local food production

Uditha Kumarasinghe

COLOMBO: The Government under the auspices of President Mahinda Rajapaksa will shortly launch a massive “ Food Production drive “ to increase the country’s indigenous food production.

Under this food development drive, the Agricultural Development Ministry intends to cultivate 15 different crop varieties unique to each area islandwide, Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services Development Ministry Secretary T. M. Abeywickrema told farmers at a discussion yesterday.

According to Abeywickrema, the Government through the promotion of these 15 crop varieties locally intends to reduce the import of such crop varieties by 10 per cent each year.

Through this move, the Government will increase the income earned by local farmers. The programme will set targets for each area by identifying the crops which can be successfully cultivated in such areas, he said.

Under the Mahinda Chintana, the Government has planned to implement a series of activities within the agriculture sector. “ One of the key objectives of the Government is to promote local food production by restricting food imported from foreign countries.”

The Ministry has stressed on the promotion of organic fertiliser among farmers.

It will increase the production of organic fertiliser by formulating rules and regulations in this regard. A separate institution will also be established for this purpose, he said.

The Government has decided to re-establish the Paddy Marketing Board. This will provide the opportunity to purchase paddy, fruits, vegetables and other crop varieties from farmers in a more systematic manner.