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by Surekha Galagoda

The National Council for Economic Development (NCED) said that Sri Lanka's poultry industry has graduated to a high level.

The poultry industry in Sri Lanka, which was started as a backyard domestic operation in 1980s has now graduated to a high level of sophistication in compliance with international best practices.

The Chief Operating Executive of NCED Sherman Gunatillake said that their fact-finding mission to the poultry industry in Sri Lanka visiting Maxie's Poultry Farm in Bujjampola conforms that the level of sophistication that the industry has achieved today will certainly help to avert the "Bird Flu" virus coming to Sri Lanka and it is in fact good news to poultry consumers in our country.

The other industry players including Bahira, Nelna, Cristombu, Prima and many outgrowers functioning under the supervision of the buyback companies also follow well accepted systems and norms in poultry farming.

Gunatillake said that apart from the poultry industry, a large number of SME businesses in Sri Lanka is not being properly recognised by the policy makers in the state sector and the strategies and solutions are formulated in isolation, which has become a setback for the SMEs to exploit their high potential.

Gunatillake also said the National Program Director for Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) said that empowering SMEs in the rural sector and systematically linking them to the international market opportunities would be the optimum mechanism for sustainable development to alleviate poverty in Sri Lanka.

The export markets are absolutely necessary for a country such as Sri Lanka especially for agricultural products given the country's small scale of economy to absorb mass production.

He also said though the number of SMEs increased over the years the value addition from SMEs is alarmingly diminishing as stated in the table above. That creates unprecedented room for imported products to grab the local markets.

The Krushi Viyawasayaka Jawaya Agro Entrepreneurial Power was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Mahaweli Development in collaboration with the NCED recently at the BMICH, under the patronage of Agriculture, Irrigation and Mahaweli Development Minister Maithripala Sirisena and Dr. P. B. Jayasundera, Secretary to the Treasury and the Chairman of NCED.

This was an effort to integrate Agriculture, Fish and Prawn Farming, Paddy Millers and the Packaging Industry to work together with the government in capitalising on the opportunities offered by the state and penetrate into international markets with the help of Bilateral Free Trade Agreements and GSP+ (Duty Free Access to the EU markets).

Gunatillake said in addition to the various incentives, tax benefits and trade facilitation, and international market opportunities, the newly formed Lankaputhra Development Bank (LDB) will bridge the gap of regional SMEs whose growth is hampered due to problems in accessing finance.

Source: Census of Industries 1983 for 1983 and unpublished data for 1996.White Paper on National Strategy for Small and Medium Enterprises Sector Development in Sri Lanka and NCED Research.

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