Rice, food items aplenty

After return of peace in North and East :

By L.S Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

The Government has launched a number of mega development projects such as agriculture, industries, infrastructure development, fisheries and housing in the Northern and Eastern provinces, after the eradication of the three decade - long LTTE terrorism in May 2009.

The Agriculture Development Ministry, Economic Development Ministry, Agrarian Services Ministry and the Handabima Authority handled the projects in the Agricultural sector.

The production of paddy, vegetables, fruits and seasonal crops such as red onions, chillies, tobacco, kurakkan, green gram, cowpea, groundnuts, black gram and gingerly was comparatively high in the Northern and Eastern provinces due to its fertile soil.

The government provided assistance to farmers including free seed paddy, fertilizer at highly subsidised prices, initial assistance for preparing and ploughing the ground and marketing facilities.

It was encouraging that the people who suffered under LTTE terrorism resumed cultivation within a short spell. They have brought all cultivable lands under the plough.

The Agriculture Department provided 136,753 bushes of paddy seeds to the Northern and Eastern farmers free during the bad weather in 2010-2011 Maha Season.

The Farmers Day celebrations were held in Vavuniya last year (2011) Thousands of people from different parts of the island including Northern Province had visited the week-long Agri-Exhibition held in Vavuniya.

The schoolchildren, youth and the farmers who visited this exhibition were apprised of the advanced scientific systems in the Agricultural sector to improve productivity and to protect cultivations from natural disasters.

The Sri Lanka Handabima Authority with the assistance of Defence Ministry, Economic Development Ministry and the Sri Lanka Army launched a program to cultivate fallow lands belonging to the Army camps.

The main objective of the program was to ensure the sustainable development and food production and preventing soil erosions. Soldiers, farmers and the youth were deployed to implement the project titled “Ranabimen Govibimata - Mudu Polawata Haritha Paheya”. Modern agricultural farms have been set up in the lands where Army camps were located.

Over 10,000 acres in Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Jaffna districts have been cultivated in 2011. Over 10,000 farmers were engaged in the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, red onions, greengram, cowpea, maize, ulundu and kurakkan in such lands.

The Handabima Authority had its target of expanding the cultivation drive in Northern and Eastern provinces by a further 25,000 acres this year.

The agriculture equipment, fertiliser, vegetable seeds, fruit plants and supplementary food seeds were provided free of charge to the cultivators. The marketing came under the purview of the Authority.

Tube-wells, agriculture wells and water pumps costing Rs. 2.6 million were also provided under this program.

Sri Lanka is self-sufficient in rice and vegetables due to the far sighted agricultural and economic policies of the government. Sri Lanka in view of its massive agriculture development could now be appositely redesignated as the granary of the east.

The fruit and subsidiary food crop development program was also implemented in selected districts with agriculture touted as the success story - the country could be self sufficient in near future if all other sectors of the economy too are developed at a rapid pace.