Phase II of Divi Neguma launched

Phase II of the Divi Neguma national program on developing household economic units was launched last week by distributing seedlings for the Maha season cultivation. The Ministry of Economic Development said that Phase I of the program launched last year to set up 1.5 m home gardens has been successful and has contributed to increase family income of the rural community, reduce the prices of vegetables and fruits and improve the nutrition of the diet of the people.

In phase II of the program the Ministry expects to increase the number of home gardens to 2.1 m. The Ministry has released statistics relevant to phase I of the program and said that the price of fruits and vegetables has declined as supply increased with the surplus production of home gardens while most of the people have stated to grow vegetables and fruits.

The program was launched in 23 districts and is being implemented under three sub committees; agriculture, livestock and fisheries and home based industries and are led by Cabinet Ministers.

According to statistics released by the ministry, during phase I of the program it has spent Rs. 91m under the agriculture sector for home gardening and distribution of plants and seedlings.

In the fisheries sector the ministry has spent Rs.2.87 m. The Ministry has disbursed Rs.23.3 for the development of the poultry sector in 20 districts. Over 350,000 coconut plants have been distributed among farmers in 14,022 GN divisions during the period. According to statistics physical and financial progress in phase I is behind the targets due to practical reasons. The ministry expects to address these issues in the phase II. - GW