Bee villages set up in Sabaragamuwa

by Dhaneshi YATAWARA

The Economic Development Ministry has established 'bee villages' under the Divi Neguma program in the Sabaragamuwa Province. A special program is under way to popularise bee keeping as a household industry in the province.

Families or individuals in selected villages of the Sabaragamuwa Province will be given technical and financial assistance to start bee keeping as a self-employment venture through the Economic Development Ministry. Experts and researchers conduct training programs in villages, educating people on starting in the industry at a low cost using locally available resources.

Currently more than 170,000 families benefit from the Divi Neguma program in the Sabaragamuwa Province. According to the Ministry, more than 86,000 families are in the Divi Neguma program in the Ratnapura district and more than 85,900 families in the Kegalle district.

The Government's development programs in the province started with the improvement of roads. About 175 kilometres of rural roads have already been developed in the area.