International Forum next month:

Investment opportunities for fisheries, livestock and milk processing

by P. Krishnaswamy

The International Investment Promotion Forum (IIPF) for promoting foreign and local investment in the Eastern province is to be held on January 17, 2014 in Colombo under the patronage of Eastern PC Minister of Agriculture , Animal Production and Development, Rural Industries Development, Fisheries and Tourism , Z.A. Naseer Ahamed, supported by the BOI, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Sri Lankan Convention Bureau , Batticaloa District Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and the Chamber of Tourism and Industry of Sri Lanka.

Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa will be the Chief Guest and some of the ministers will preside over the three sessions at the Taj Samudra Hotel.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer Minister Naseer Ahamed answered some related questions with regard to the IIPF.

Excerpts:

Q: What motivated you on an Investment Promotion Forum for the Eastern province and what are your objectives?

A: The Eastern province suffered the ravages of terrorism for three long decades and the Government implemented many development programs for the province after the elimination of the terrorism in May 2009. The province is a 'investment hot spot' of South Asia with its great potential in terms of resource availability and attractive incentives and facilities offered by the Government.

My Ministry is focussing on attracting investments in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, livestock development, dairy farming, tourism, rural industries and other areas which have export potential. I realise the importance of bringing in foreign investment for enhancing livelihood opportunities for the local communities , for eliminating unemployment and addressing poverty. I feel that the vast investment potential of the province should be taken advantage of by the PC to supplement the Government's development programs for the terrorism-torn province . New technologies , latest expertise and technical know-how in these fields can be introduced through foreign investments which, in turn, will contribute towards the accelerated development of the province. The private sector and the business leaders of this country also can play an important role in this respect.

During the past four years, my Ministry has been in the process of identifying the resources, land and other potential that are available for attracting foreign and private sector investment . We have also formulated many proposals.

Q: What are the main areas in which you propose to offer investment opportunities?

A: Mainly in the field of agriculture because the Eastern province is contributing to 25 percent of the national paddy production. Eastern Province of Sri Lanka has remained as 'the rice bowl of the country' for a long time.

The province is ideal for crop production with more scope for expanded development . There are vast opportunities for production of rice and development of rice based value-added products for domestic as well as international markets. Agriculture continued to play a major role in the economy of the Eastern Province even during the conflict in the region. Agriculture is not only a major contributing sector to the economy but also a major sector for employment in the rural areas.

The province relies mainly on agriculture for food security, income generation and employment of the population. The province is well endowed with various physical and natural resources making it essentially an agricultural area. Sparsely used land and other crop land is about 75,000 ha in the province.

Investment opportunities will also be offered in other sectors, mainly in fisheries, livestock and milk processing. Thirty percent of the coastal areas of the country is in the East and the fisheries sector was lagging behind in development because of the three-decade-long terrorist problem. During that period, either sea security zones or other restrictions on fishing were in existence in the coastal areas of the Eastern province and also in some other provinces. The fisheries sector, including aquaculture activities, are identified as a important economic sector in the Eastern Province due to its contribution to the provincial economy.

It is noteworthy to mention that the Eastern province consists of a coastline of 462 km, 3900 ha of brackish water resources and a larger extent of (3,600 ha) inland water bodies as major, medium and minor irrigation tanks. Culture fishing activities can be promoted as a viable commercial venture with a view to promoting freshwater fish production as a source of low cost protein for the rural communities, generate income and employment and to earn the much-needed foreign exchange for the country through export of high valued fish species.

I am hopeful that some foreign companies may be setting up their fish processing and fish canning factories in the province.

Tourism is another sector on priority focus. It is very speedily developing in the province. With the projected 2.5 Million tourists arrivals in 2016 , the Eastern province is fast tracking to cope up, through many hotel projects and other tourism attractions.

In hotels in Pasikudah alone, about 1,400 hotel rooms are coming up at present and a similar progress is taking place in other tourist destinations, including Nilaveli. Religious tourism will also be focussed upon because the province has many historical religious shrines and places of worship. We will also be focussing on eco-tourism. The support service industry is very essential for promoting tourism, such as facilities for whale watching, boat riding, white water rafting, sea water surfing etc.

We will take steps to provide these recreational facilities and we are also thinking of providing luxury boats, like in the Kerala State in India, for the tourists to enjoy. The province also has wild life, bird sanctuaries and virgin forests.

The other sector on focus is the livestock sector, which includes dairy farming. It is a very vital sector because the country is importing about Rs.36 Billion worth of milk products annually. The Eastern province contributes to 17 percent of the national milk products.

The province has over 400,000 milch cows and each of them yield only about 1 - 2 litres of milk per day. We want to develop it to a level where the cows will yield an average of about 10 - 15 litres per day. We are in the process of holding discussions with the Minister of Livestock and Rural Community Development: the Chairman of the National Livestock Development Board Arumugan Thondaman and others on getting herds of hybrid cows which would yield higher quantities of milk. We are also anticipating that some foreign companies would come and establish their dairy farms and milk processing factories in the province. We are also hoping that we will be getting hybrid cows from Minister Thondaman.

Q: You said that your Ministry delegation participated in the Business Forum of the Commonwealth Summit in November and held discussions with foreign delegates.

A: Yes. We held discussions with many foreign business delegations. The CHOGM was a national event and there were about 600 delegates. The difference is that we are doing it on a provincial level, focussing on specific areas. Delegations from Singapore, Malaysia, China, India, the UAE and Saudi Arabia expressed their keen interest on investing in the province as per our project proposals. A members of a US delegation has informed us that they are coming for discussions and other follow-up steps.

Q: On arrangements to host the IIPF?

A: Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa is the Chief Guest and there will be an opening ceremony in the morning. Minister Basil Rajapaksa has also focussed special attention on developing the terrorism-torn Eastern province.

There will be three sessions after the opening ceremony, each presided over by Cabinet Ministers. The private sector business leaders will be given the opportunity to express their views and put forward their own proposals.

There will be senior Government officials to explain to prospective investors the incentives, tax holidays and other facilities that will be available to them and to provide clarifications on specific matters.

This good opportunity is open for foreign investors and the private sector. They have to grab the opportunity. In my opinion the vast opportunities that are available in the Eastern province may not be available in other provinces.