Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said on 1 April that he was confident that various efforts that are being taken by the Government to revive the agriculture industry, will allow Sri Lanka an opportunity to modernise the agriculture industry through introduction of new technologies.
According to Amaraweera the recent allocation of Rs. 56,000 million towards the development of the industry was an important part of the planned technological transition. He added that the Government was planning to establish agriculture as a major economic foundation for the country, and called on all stakeholders to assist in reaching the goal.
The Minister of Agriculture made these remarks at the National New Paddy Harvest Festival, known as the “Aluth Sahal Mangalya”, which was held at the historic Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya in Anuradhapura on Saturday (1) under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The event, which was attended by farmers from different parts of the country, was organised for the 56th time.
“We are currently developing a QR code system for farmers to provide them with relevant allowances and subsidies seamlessly. Additionally, we have already discussed reducing the price of herbicides by 10% in the future. We are also exploring the possibility of introducing a third season for cultivation, in addition to the current Yala and Maha seasons. The third season has already commenced in the Hambantota District, where it is being cultivated as an alternative crop, rather than paddy. We encourage farmers from other districts to apply for this third season as well.” Amaraweewra explained.
According to Amaraweera, the Government is currently planning to incorporate modern technology into agriculture, with the aim of transitioning crops that traditionally require 2.5 acres to grow to a more modern, efficient system that can be achieved in just half an acre of land.
Noting that the Government has successfully promoted the cultivation of sour bananas as an export crop and that the country is currently exporting one container of sour bananas every Saturday, he added that steps are underway to increase this export volume to two containers by next month.
In addition, he claimed that the Government was successful in providing the necessary urea fertiliser for the Maha season, and also to distribute the stock received from the Chinese Government to farmers free of charge. It is expected that the fertiliser will enable farmers to produce 3.3 million metric tonnes (MT) of rice.
Source By themorning.lk
