Agrarian Service Centres to boost agriculture

by L. S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

A reorganisation program will be implemented for Agrarian Services Centres (ASC) to give a better service to the farmers, said Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

The provision of plants, seeds, fertiliser, technology and agriculture information to the farmers will be channelled through the ASC which is the local hub of the departmental activities at local level, has to be very efficient and farmer friendly, the Minister said.

These centres in the North and the East were destroyed by the LTTE terrorists. Some of them are under construction at present. They would, however be activated shortly, the Minister said.

Referring to the Api Wavemu Rata Nagamu, agriculture development program, he said it would be further expanded and expedited."Sri Lanka could be made self-sufficient in rice and other food items including fruits. The need to spend huge sums of foreign exchange to import them could be progressively curtailed. "Our country is gifted with such prerequisites for agricultural sustainability as fertile land, good weather and an intelligent farmer community", he said.

A scheme to set up a Model Home Garden (MHG) in each grama sevaka division will also be launched islandwide shortly. The farmers could seek necessary assistance from the Agriculture and Agrarian Services officers and obtain seeds and plants from the Model Home Gardens, the Minister said.

The Minister said that the "Mahinda Chintana Idiri Dekma" envisages the country's self-sufficiency in rice and other food crops. The ministry resources including those of the farmer community would be harnessed to realise this objective, he said.