Ishara MUDUGAMUWA
A special National Secretariat will be established for the kithul industry with the objective of enhancing the industry's contribution to the gross domestic production, said Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda addressing the media recently at the ministry.
Under the Mahinda Chinthana, special attention has been given for the development of the kithul industry. The ministry has launched a National kithul Production Programme by paying special attention to 18 districts which are Rathnapura, Kandy, Kaluthara, Galle, Kegalle, etc.
"The ministry has taken measures to provide solutions for problems faced by kithul tappers. Earlier kithul tappers had to obtain a permit to carry out their work. With the support of the ministry, now they can work without having a permit. The ministry has also introduced special insurance schemes for kithul tappers.
Under the Randiya Insurance scheme, tappers will be given a maximum of Rs million without their contribution," said Deputy Minister Weerakumara Dissanayake.
He also said that the shortage of kithul tappers is a big challenge faced by the industry. The young generation refused to do this type of jobs as they are more attracted to white collar jobs. It is necessary to change the attitudes of young people.
The ministry trained 1,964 tappers last year and this year we hope to train 2,000 tappers, Dissanayake said.
"The ministry has taken measures to enhance the production of kithul based products with the support of the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI). The SLSI will issue a special standards report on kithul based food products within the next three months. Kithul Activation and Sap Production Enhancing Reagent (KASPER) technology has been introduced to the industrialists to enhance the yield. The technology will be used on about 40,000 - 50,000 trees this year. With the introduction of this technology, the total daily production has increased to 14 liters per day which was earlier at zero," he said. There is a huge demand for kithul based products especially in Japan, USA and Malaysia. Therefore, the ministry has taken measures to doubled the total exports. There was a 30 percent growth of kithul exports in 2011 compared to 2010.
The Economic Development Ministry also provides assistance for the development of the kithul industry. The ministry has allocated Rs 12 million in 2011.
Ministry Secretary V.Sivagnanasothy, Additional Secretary K. R. Samarasighe and ministry officials participated in the occasion.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/04/04/news32.asp
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