Project to improve safety and quality of fruits, vegetables

The project on 'Improving Safety and Quality of Sri Lankan Fruits and Vegetables' was launched in Colombo recently. Secretary, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Anura Siriwardena, public sector officials and representatives from the private sector were present.

The project, a private-public partnership was initiated by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) with the Department of Agriculture (DOA) to improve the safety and quality of Sri Lankan fruits and vegetables.

Funding for this project was organised through the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with the International Trade Commission (ITC) while the counterpart funding is channelled from the DOA and the CCC.

The other main stakeholders include the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka Standards institute (SLSI), Lanka Fruits and Vegetable Producers, Processors and Exporters Association (LFVPPEA), the National Agribusiness Council (NAC) and fruit and vegetable farmers.

"Sri Lanka has now achieved a status of middle-income country and the standard of living of the citizens has improved and they are more conscious about the quality and safety of food due to health reasons," a CCC spokesman said.

As the country has reached self-sufficiency in rice production, the emphasis is on diversifying to fruits, vegetables and other field crops.

All fruits and vegetables should conform to international food safety standards to be eligible to be exported to Europe, US, Australia and ASEAN markets.

Therefore, exposing and training local farmers to attain standards will give them an opportunity to earn a better income and be competitive in a globalised economy.

The project plans to train quarantine officers with the help of local and international experts on International and European Union Market Phytosanitary standards, Pest Surveillance, Plant Quarantine and International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) training on Pest Risk Analysis.

These quarantine officers will train field level quarantine officers.

The project also plans to train a large number of master trainers from the Department of Agriculture and Provincial Department of Agriculture on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and other relevant subjects.

These master trainers will train another 50 field level trainers. The field level trainers will in turn train 150 extension agents who will impart this knowledge to 400 selected farmers.