‘Committee to co-ordinate food security’
Showing posts with label Food Security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food Security. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Friday, November 7, 2014
Friday, April 20, 2012
'Lanka self-sufficient in rice'
Under Mahinda Rajapaksa government:
'For the first time since Independence, Sri Lanka has become self sufficient in rice under the Mahinda Rajapaksa government.
'This is because the government has taken steps to ensure food security in the country, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said.
'While ensuring food security as a country the government also endeavoured to ensure food security of the family and the individual, the minister said.
Minister Rajapaksa said so at a ceremony held at his ministry to mark the donation of a stock of rice and other cereals worth Rs 274.97 million (2180928.08 US dollars) to Sri Lanka by Brazil yesterday.
The Minister said the donation was accepted after prolonged discussions as to why the country should receive any more rice when it was already self- sufficient in the commodity. However, it was later decided to accept the donation as a gesture of goodwill and gratitude for longstanding friendly relations between the two countries.
The minister also recalled that the World Food Programme had always come to Sri Lanka's assistance in times of need in the past.
Brazilian ambassador Henrique Lopes Borio said Sri Lanka had attained remarkable economic and livelihood development and social welfare standards within a short time after ending terrorism in the country.
Sri Lanka had been able to restore normalcy in conflict affected arrears because it had utilized humanitarian aid received from Brazil, WFP and other countries after the return of peace pragmatically.
A ministry statement said the rice received from Brazil would be utilized for the school mid day meal programme and meet the requirement of beneficiaries in re-settled areas and in welfare camps.
World Food Programme representative in Sri Lanka Adnan Khan was also present.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/04/20/news30.asp
'For the first time since Independence, Sri Lanka has become self sufficient in rice under the Mahinda Rajapaksa government.
'This is because the government has taken steps to ensure food security in the country, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said.
'While ensuring food security as a country the government also endeavoured to ensure food security of the family and the individual, the minister said.
Minister Rajapaksa said so at a ceremony held at his ministry to mark the donation of a stock of rice and other cereals worth Rs 274.97 million (2180928.08 US dollars) to Sri Lanka by Brazil yesterday.
The Minister said the donation was accepted after prolonged discussions as to why the country should receive any more rice when it was already self- sufficient in the commodity. However, it was later decided to accept the donation as a gesture of goodwill and gratitude for longstanding friendly relations between the two countries.
The minister also recalled that the World Food Programme had always come to Sri Lanka's assistance in times of need in the past.
Brazilian ambassador Henrique Lopes Borio said Sri Lanka had attained remarkable economic and livelihood development and social welfare standards within a short time after ending terrorism in the country.
Sri Lanka had been able to restore normalcy in conflict affected arrears because it had utilized humanitarian aid received from Brazil, WFP and other countries after the return of peace pragmatically.
A ministry statement said the rice received from Brazil would be utilized for the school mid day meal programme and meet the requirement of beneficiaries in re-settled areas and in welfare camps.
World Food Programme representative in Sri Lanka Adnan Khan was also present.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/04/20/news30.asp
Monday, April 9, 2012
ආහාර නිෂ්පාදනය ඉහළ නැංවීමේ වැඩ පිළිවෙළ ජපානයේ පැසැසුමට
මහින්ද අලුත්ගෙදර
දේශීය ආහාර නිෂ්පාදනය ඉහළ නැංවීම සඳහා ශ්රී ලංකා රජය ගෙන තිබෙන වැඩ පිළිවෙල සමස්ත කලාපයට ම අතිශය වැදගත් බව ජපානය පවසයි.
මෙවැනි වැඩ පිළිවෙලක් ක්රියාත්මක කිරීම මඟින් බටහිර ආධිපත්යයෙන් නිදහස් වීමටද හැකිවන බව ජපානයේ ආර්ථික විද්යාව පිළිබඳ මහාචාර්ය ෂිමි සූ මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.
ඒ මහතා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ කොළඹදී පැවැති විශේෂ සම්මන්ත්රණයක් සඳහා සහභාගි වෙමිනි. මවුබිම ලංකා පදනම මෙම සම්මන්ත්රණය සංවිධානය කළේය.
ස්වයංපෝෂිත ආර්ථිකයක් සඳහා දේශීය ක්රම අගයමින් ඉදිරියට යන රටක් ලෙස ශ්රී ලංකාව කැපී පෙනෙන කාර්ය භාරයක් ඉටුකර තිබෙන බව පෙන්වා දෙන ජපාන ආර්ථික විද්යාව පිළිබඳ මහාචාර්යවරයා එය ශ්රී ලංකාවට පමණක් නොව කලාපයටම අතිශය වැදගත් තත්ත්වයක් බවද පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.
සංවර්ධනය වන රටවල දේශීය නිෂ්පාදන නොසළකා හරින තත්ත්වයට අද වනවිට බටහිර රටවල් ක්රියාත්මක වී තිබෙන බවද ඒ නිසාම දේශීය නිෂ්පාදනය යන සංකල්පය වර්ධනය කළ යුතුව තිබෙන බවද හෙතෙම සඳහන් කළේය.
මෙවැනි අභියෝග ජය ගැනීම සඳහා ශ්රී ලංකාව අනුගමනය කරන වැඩපිළිවෙල ඉදිරියටත් ක්රියාත්මක කළයුතු බව සඳහන් කළ ෂිමි සූ මහතා ඒ මඟින් කලාපීය වශයෙන් ශක්තිමත් වීමටද හැකි බව පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.
මවු බිම ලංකා පදනමේ සභාපති ආරියශීල වික්රමනායක මහතා ඇතුළු පිරිසක් මේ අවස්ථාවට එක්ව සිටියහ.
http://www.dinamina.lk/2012/04/09/_art.asp?fn=n12040910
දේශීය ආහාර නිෂ්පාදනය ඉහළ නැංවීම සඳහා ශ්රී ලංකා රජය ගෙන තිබෙන වැඩ පිළිවෙල සමස්ත කලාපයට ම අතිශය වැදගත් බව ජපානය පවසයි.
මෙවැනි වැඩ පිළිවෙලක් ක්රියාත්මක කිරීම මඟින් බටහිර ආධිපත්යයෙන් නිදහස් වීමටද හැකිවන බව ජපානයේ ආර්ථික විද්යාව පිළිබඳ මහාචාර්ය ෂිමි සූ මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.
ඒ මහතා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ කොළඹදී පැවැති විශේෂ සම්මන්ත්රණයක් සඳහා සහභාගි වෙමිනි. මවුබිම ලංකා පදනම මෙම සම්මන්ත්රණය සංවිධානය කළේය.
ස්වයංපෝෂිත ආර්ථිකයක් සඳහා දේශීය ක්රම අගයමින් ඉදිරියට යන රටක් ලෙස ශ්රී ලංකාව කැපී පෙනෙන කාර්ය භාරයක් ඉටුකර තිබෙන බව පෙන්වා දෙන ජපාන ආර්ථික විද්යාව පිළිබඳ මහාචාර්යවරයා එය ශ්රී ලංකාවට පමණක් නොව කලාපයටම අතිශය වැදගත් තත්ත්වයක් බවද පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.
සංවර්ධනය වන රටවල දේශීය නිෂ්පාදන නොසළකා හරින තත්ත්වයට අද වනවිට බටහිර රටවල් ක්රියාත්මක වී තිබෙන බවද ඒ නිසාම දේශීය නිෂ්පාදනය යන සංකල්පය වර්ධනය කළ යුතුව තිබෙන බවද හෙතෙම සඳහන් කළේය.
මෙවැනි අභියෝග ජය ගැනීම සඳහා ශ්රී ලංකාව අනුගමනය කරන වැඩපිළිවෙල ඉදිරියටත් ක්රියාත්මක කළයුතු බව සඳහන් කළ ෂිමි සූ මහතා ඒ මඟින් කලාපීය වශයෙන් ශක්තිමත් වීමටද හැකි බව පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.
මවු බිම ලංකා පදනමේ සභාපති ආරියශීල වික්රමනායක මහතා ඇතුළු පිරිසක් මේ අවස්ථාවට එක්ව සිටියහ.
http://www.dinamina.lk/2012/04/09/_art.asp?fn=n12040910
Thursday, April 5, 2012
'SL supplied 500 mt of rice to WFO'
Sri Lanka was able to supply 500 metric tons of locally produced rice to the World Food Organization since the country has attained self-sufficiency in its rice requirements.
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa disclosed this when he met US Assistant Trade Representative for South Asia Michael J. Dillency who called on him at the Kotte Parliamentary Complex on Tuesday.
Minister Rajapaksa who explained the current situation in the country to the US Assistant Trade Representative said the country today had an investment and trade-friendly environment.
The infrastructure facilities needed for it have already been produced by the government.
This had enabled large and medium scale investors to invest in Sri Lanka in great numbers. The government is committed to further improve the investment friendly environment in the country he said.
Rajapaksa said the Expo 2012 International Exhibition staged in Sri Lanka was a big draw among investors from 57 countries and it symbolized the vast economic progress already achieved by Sri Lanka.
He said garments, gems and Jewllery and tourism industries had a big demand among visiting investors.
US Assistant Trade Representative Michael J. Dilleney said he was happy to note the rapid economic progress achieved by Sri Lanka.
Labour and Labour Relations Minister Gamini Lokuge and Edward P. Hartney and V.C. Fowler of the US Embassy were also present.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/04/05/news21.asp
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa disclosed this when he met US Assistant Trade Representative for South Asia Michael J. Dillency who called on him at the Kotte Parliamentary Complex on Tuesday.
Minister Rajapaksa who explained the current situation in the country to the US Assistant Trade Representative said the country today had an investment and trade-friendly environment.
The infrastructure facilities needed for it have already been produced by the government.
This had enabled large and medium scale investors to invest in Sri Lanka in great numbers. The government is committed to further improve the investment friendly environment in the country he said.
Rajapaksa said the Expo 2012 International Exhibition staged in Sri Lanka was a big draw among investors from 57 countries and it symbolized the vast economic progress already achieved by Sri Lanka.
He said garments, gems and Jewllery and tourism industries had a big demand among visiting investors.
US Assistant Trade Representative Michael J. Dilleney said he was happy to note the rapid economic progress achieved by Sri Lanka.
Labour and Labour Relations Minister Gamini Lokuge and Edward P. Hartney and V.C. Fowler of the US Embassy were also present.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/04/05/news21.asp
Food self-sufficiency, key to development - Prof Yoshio
Atapattu BANDARA
Food self-sufficiency is the key to sustainable development and Sri Lanka's attempt in this regard is commendable, Professor at Shinzu University, Japan, Shimizu Yoshio said.
Organizations like Mawbima Lanka Foundation will encourage people to be patriotic and increase local production as Japan did sometime ago, he further said.
He was delivering a lecture organized by the Mawbima Lanka Foundation in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Japan- Sri Lanka diplomatic relations at Sausiripaya yesterday. Prof. Yoshio, speaking on the theme - "The Development of Industry and Economy of Sri Lanka - from the perspective of Japanese Experience" - said development should be gained without harming the culture and traditions of the country.
Japan experienced its development during 1950 to 1985 and it entered the international market from 1985, he said. "But we are still not independent. Japan does actually what America wants. Many Japanese know this reality but they wont discuss this in public," he said.
"We are still an American colony, he said. Japan has been considered as an enemy of the world after the Second World War and that is still effective. The UN Articles 53, 77 and 107 have restricted the Japanese position and any country can attack Japan under these laws at any time. That's why Japan remains silent on many occasions. We can't speak in favour of Sri Lanka as our mouths are closed by these Articles of the UN," he said.
The Professor reiterated that Asian economies are emerging and USA and Europe are struggling to pull the legs of the Asians hampering their the progress. Japan was also not given opportunities by American imperialism till the North Korean war was started in 1950. America kept Japanese economy on agriculture and used it as their Asian defense base.
'Industrialized economy came into existence in Japan after 1950. Sri Lanka in that sense is independent and has a huge potential of being developed independently. The Professor expressed his surprise why Sri Lanka is not producing less expensive and least technologically driven three wheelers on their own.
A three wheeler is a good option for many Sri Lankans and it is a most profitable and economical small vehicle. With some advanced technology Sri Lanka should manufacture three wheelers in Sri Lanka itself, he said.
Sri Lanka should start from basics and can be developed methodically. Japan can assist Sri Lanka to develop an industrial economy. "Sri Lanka has a proven record that they have the manpower and knowledge to gain industrial progress," he remarked.
The Professor commended the Mawbima Lanka Foundation and its activities to promote Sri Lankan products and prevent outflow of foreign exchange unnecessarily. Sri Lanka has proved that they can face the challenges and organizations like Mawbima Lanka will save Sri Lankan customers from foreign subjugation through their products.
'Sri Lankans should take this challenge collectively and if the Asians work closely, the outside domination can be minimized, he said. 'The self sustainability should be maintained while safeguarding the cultural values and that should never be mixed with others. By increasing self sufficiency in food and industry any country despite its geographical location and extent can be developed, he said.
'If Sri Lanka succeeded in accomplishing this target Sri Lanka can be a model to the other nations of the world. A strong leadership is needed not only for food production but also for the improvement of industries too, he added.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/04/05/news23.asp
Food self-sufficiency is the key to sustainable development and Sri Lanka's attempt in this regard is commendable, Professor at Shinzu University, Japan, Shimizu Yoshio said.
Organizations like Mawbima Lanka Foundation will encourage people to be patriotic and increase local production as Japan did sometime ago, he further said.
He was delivering a lecture organized by the Mawbima Lanka Foundation in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Japan- Sri Lanka diplomatic relations at Sausiripaya yesterday. Prof. Yoshio, speaking on the theme - "The Development of Industry and Economy of Sri Lanka - from the perspective of Japanese Experience" - said development should be gained without harming the culture and traditions of the country.
Japan experienced its development during 1950 to 1985 and it entered the international market from 1985, he said. "But we are still not independent. Japan does actually what America wants. Many Japanese know this reality but they wont discuss this in public," he said.
"We are still an American colony, he said. Japan has been considered as an enemy of the world after the Second World War and that is still effective. The UN Articles 53, 77 and 107 have restricted the Japanese position and any country can attack Japan under these laws at any time. That's why Japan remains silent on many occasions. We can't speak in favour of Sri Lanka as our mouths are closed by these Articles of the UN," he said.
The Professor reiterated that Asian economies are emerging and USA and Europe are struggling to pull the legs of the Asians hampering their the progress. Japan was also not given opportunities by American imperialism till the North Korean war was started in 1950. America kept Japanese economy on agriculture and used it as their Asian defense base.
'Industrialized economy came into existence in Japan after 1950. Sri Lanka in that sense is independent and has a huge potential of being developed independently. The Professor expressed his surprise why Sri Lanka is not producing less expensive and least technologically driven three wheelers on their own.
A three wheeler is a good option for many Sri Lankans and it is a most profitable and economical small vehicle. With some advanced technology Sri Lanka should manufacture three wheelers in Sri Lanka itself, he said.
Sri Lanka should start from basics and can be developed methodically. Japan can assist Sri Lanka to develop an industrial economy. "Sri Lanka has a proven record that they have the manpower and knowledge to gain industrial progress," he remarked.
The Professor commended the Mawbima Lanka Foundation and its activities to promote Sri Lankan products and prevent outflow of foreign exchange unnecessarily. Sri Lanka has proved that they can face the challenges and organizations like Mawbima Lanka will save Sri Lankan customers from foreign subjugation through their products.
'Sri Lankans should take this challenge collectively and if the Asians work closely, the outside domination can be minimized, he said. 'The self sustainability should be maintained while safeguarding the cultural values and that should never be mixed with others. By increasing self sufficiency in food and industry any country despite its geographical location and extent can be developed, he said.
'If Sri Lanka succeeded in accomplishing this target Sri Lanka can be a model to the other nations of the world. A strong leadership is needed not only for food production but also for the improvement of industries too, he added.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/04/05/news23.asp
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Mannar 'rice bowl' revived after 30 years: Mannar to become a rice exporting zone
Nimal WIJESINGHE-Anuradhapura Additional District Group Corr
The Economic Development Ministry envisages to promote the Mannar district's paddy cultivation zone as a rice exporting zone under the patronage of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
For the realization of this agenda, top priority is being given for scientific water management and strengthening the rice milling capacity in the region while offering more facilities to the farmer community with regard to livelihood empowerment.
The paddy cultivation in the Mannar district which was once called the country's rice bowl is being revived to its previous prestigious position after nearly 33 years.
Mannar District Residential Irrigation Engineer H. M. A. Nelugolla told the Daily News that as a result of the accelerated irrigation development plan implemented during the last two years, the farmers in the Mannar district are being blessed with a huge paddy harvest of around 80,000 metric tons during the ongoing Maha cultivation season.Nelugolla added that for the rehabilitation of the Giant Tank and its irrigation canal system including the repairing of the cascade, the Economic Development Ministry has allocated Rs 525 million.
"Under Giant Tank alone, 30,000 acres of paddy has been grown in the Maha cultivation season.
We have been able to restore about 80 kilometres of the canal network in addition to the 10 main canals which were in a dilapidated condition.
"The majority of the internally displaced families residing in the Chettikulam refugee camp have returned to Mannar to take up cultivation," Nelugolla said.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/03/22/news20.asp
For the realization of this agenda, top priority is being given for scientific water management and strengthening the rice milling capacity in the region while offering more facilities to the farmer community with regard to livelihood empowerment.
The paddy cultivation in the Mannar district which was once called the country's rice bowl is being revived to its previous prestigious position after nearly 33 years.
Mannar District Residential Irrigation Engineer H. M. A. Nelugolla told the Daily News that as a result of the accelerated irrigation development plan implemented during the last two years, the farmers in the Mannar district are being blessed with a huge paddy harvest of around 80,000 metric tons during the ongoing Maha cultivation season.Nelugolla added that for the rehabilitation of the Giant Tank and its irrigation canal system including the repairing of the cascade, the Economic Development Ministry has allocated Rs 525 million.
"Under Giant Tank alone, 30,000 acres of paddy has been grown in the Maha cultivation season.
We have been able to restore about 80 kilometres of the canal network in addition to the 10 main canals which were in a dilapidated condition.
"The majority of the internally displaced families residing in the Chettikulam refugee camp have returned to Mannar to take up cultivation," Nelugolla said.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/03/22/news20.asp
Friday, February 3, 2012
සැපයුම වැඩි වී එළවළු මිල බසී
ප්ලාස්ටික්, කාඩ්බෝඩ් හා ලී පෙට්ටි ඇසුරුම් භාවිතයෙන් එළවළු රැගෙන ඒම නිසා පිටකොටුව මැනිං තොග වෙළෙඳ පොළ තුළ ඊයේ (2) එළවළු තොග මිල ගණන් පහත වැටුණු බවමැනිං තොග වෙළෙඳ සංගමයේ ලේකම් ගාමිණී හඳුන්ගේ මහතා 'ලක්බිම'ට පැවැසීය.
තක්කාලි කිලෝවක් රු. 15/-ත් රු. 20/-ත් අතරද, බෝංචි කිලෝවක් රු. 35/-ත් රු. 40/-ත් අතරද, ගෝවා කිලෝවක් රු. 35/-ත් රු. 40/-ත් අතරද, කැරට් කිලෝවක් රු. 40/-ත් රු. 50/-ත් අතරද, මිරිස් කිලෝවක් රු. 85/-ත් රු. 90/-ත් අතරද,මාලු මිරිස් කිලෝවක් රු. 65/-ත් රු. 70/-ත් අතරද මිලකට මේ වන විට එම එළවළු වර්ග අලෙවි වන බව ලේකම්වරයා වැඩිදුටරත් පැවැසීය. එය මිල පහත වැටීමක් බවද ලේකම්වරයා කීවේය.
දිනකට ලොරි 150ක් පැමිණෙනවා. ඒ අතර ගෝනිවලත් එළවළු ඇසුරුම් කර තියෙනවා. එළවළු සැපයුම වැඩි වී එළවළු ඉල්ලුම අඩුවුණා. මේ හේතුව නිසා එළවළු මිල පහත වැටුණු බව ලේකම්වරයා පැවැසීය.
http://www.lakbima.lk/new_site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1395:vvt&catid=82:us-politics&Itemid=457
තක්කාලි කිලෝවක් රු. 15/-ත් රු. 20/-ත් අතරද, බෝංචි කිලෝවක් රු. 35/-ත් රු. 40/-ත් අතරද, ගෝවා කිලෝවක් රු. 35/-ත් රු. 40/-ත් අතරද, කැරට් කිලෝවක් රු. 40/-ත් රු. 50/-ත් අතරද, මිරිස් කිලෝවක් රු. 85/-ත් රු. 90/-ත් අතරද,මාලු මිරිස් කිලෝවක් රු. 65/-ත් රු. 70/-ත් අතරද මිලකට මේ වන විට එම එළවළු වර්ග අලෙවි වන බව ලේකම්වරයා වැඩිදුටරත් පැවැසීය. එය මිල පහත වැටීමක් බවද ලේකම්වරයා කීවේය.
දිනකට ලොරි 150ක් පැමිණෙනවා. ඒ අතර ගෝනිවලත් එළවළු ඇසුරුම් කර තියෙනවා. එළවළු සැපයුම වැඩි වී එළවළු ඉල්ලුම අඩුවුණා. මේ හේතුව නිසා එළවළු මිල පහත වැටුණු බව ලේකම්වරයා පැවැසීය.
http://www.lakbima.lk/new_site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1395:vvt&catid=82:us-politics&Itemid=457
Inland fish harvest to be doubled by 2013
Ridma DISSANAYAKE
Steps will be taken to double the inland water fish harvest by 2013, said Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne.
Minister Senaratne said so participating in an inspection tour of the aquaculture centre in Dambulla which is under the purview of the National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA).
"All arrangements are in place to develop the inland water fish industry and aquaculture farming this year. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has allocated a large sum of money to develop the fisheries industry. We hope to spend more on the development of the inland water fisheries industry, the minister said.
'A number of projects will be initiated in the future for this purpose. All these projects will help achieve all aims of the Sri Lankan fish industry, he said.
'All steps essential to solve the problems of the employees will also be taken in the next few months. The Fisheries Ministry is to launch a series of programmes with the aim of encouraging employees, the minister added.
NAQDA chairman Jayantha Chandrasoma, Director General Nimal Chandraratne and National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) Director Dr. Sam Samarasundara also participated.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/02/03/news30.asp
Steps will be taken to double the inland water fish harvest by 2013, said Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne.
Minister Senaratne said so participating in an inspection tour of the aquaculture centre in Dambulla which is under the purview of the National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA).
"All arrangements are in place to develop the inland water fish industry and aquaculture farming this year. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has allocated a large sum of money to develop the fisheries industry. We hope to spend more on the development of the inland water fisheries industry, the minister said.
'A number of projects will be initiated in the future for this purpose. All these projects will help achieve all aims of the Sri Lankan fish industry, he said.
'All steps essential to solve the problems of the employees will also be taken in the next few months. The Fisheries Ministry is to launch a series of programmes with the aim of encouraging employees, the minister added.
NAQDA chairman Jayantha Chandrasoma, Director General Nimal Chandraratne and National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) Director Dr. Sam Samarasundara also participated.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/02/03/news30.asp
Plastic crates make successful comeback
* Veggies outside list transported in crates
* Already used by 75 percent of traders
Irangika RANGE
The use of plastic crates to transport fruits and vegetables at seven Dedicated Economic Centres across the country has been successful.
It is reported that around 75 percent of traders and transporters are using plastic crates to transport fruits and vegetables from seven Dedicated Economic Centers in Dambulla, Nuwara-Eliya, Thambuththegama, Keppetipola, Meegoda and Narahenpita to other parts of the country.
Dambulla Dedicated Economic Centre manager (Development Section) Lasantha Sanjeewa told the Daily News that the use of plastic crates was made compulsory for 11 varieties of vegetables.
They include tomatoes, tibbatu , carrots, bittergourd, thumba karawila , cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, capsicum and cucumber.
He said the use of plastic crates to transport these 11 specified vegetables has recorded 90 percent success at the Dambulla Dedicated Economic Centre.
Nuwara Eliya Dedicated Economic Centre manager R M Bandara said both traders and transporters are using plastic crates to transport specified vegetables from the Nuwara Eliya Dedicated Economic Centre to other areas.
"Most farmers who arrived at the Dedicated Economic Centre in Nuwara Eliya from other areas transported their vegetables in plastic crates even though they were free to transport their produce from farms to economic centres in any mode," he said.
Thambuththegama Dedicated Economic Center manager Prashan Rajapaksa said that 75 percent of transporters and traders are using plastic crates to transport vegetables to other areas from the Thambuthethegama Dedicated Economic Centre.
Keppetipola Dedicated Economic Center manager Isuru Bandara said that vendors and transporters are using plastic crates to transport five specified categories of vegetables including tomatoes, carrot, capsicum, cucumber and lettuce. "They transport these vegetables from the Keppetipola Dedicated Economic Center to other parts of the country."
Meegoda Dedicated Economic Center manager Ruwan Kumara said around 1.4 million of plastic crates have been distributed among traders and transporters to transport vegetables.
"The use of plastic crates to transport vegetables and fruits is 70 percent successful at the Meegoda Dedicated Economic Centre," he said.
Narahenpita Dedicated Economic Center manager Jude Ranasinghe said traders and transporters are using plastic crates to transport not only the specified 11 vegetables, but also various other vegetables and fruit.
Around 90 percent are using plastic crates at the Narahenpita Dedicated Economic Center.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/02/03/news20.asp
* Already used by 75 percent of traders
Irangika RANGE
The use of plastic crates to transport fruits and vegetables at seven Dedicated Economic Centres across the country has been successful.
It is reported that around 75 percent of traders and transporters are using plastic crates to transport fruits and vegetables from seven Dedicated Economic Centers in Dambulla, Nuwara-Eliya, Thambuththegama, Keppetipola, Meegoda and Narahenpita to other parts of the country.
Dambulla Dedicated Economic Centre manager (Development Section) Lasantha Sanjeewa told the Daily News that the use of plastic crates was made compulsory for 11 varieties of vegetables.
They include tomatoes, tibbatu , carrots, bittergourd, thumba karawila , cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, capsicum and cucumber.
He said the use of plastic crates to transport these 11 specified vegetables has recorded 90 percent success at the Dambulla Dedicated Economic Centre.
Nuwara Eliya Dedicated Economic Centre manager R M Bandara said both traders and transporters are using plastic crates to transport specified vegetables from the Nuwara Eliya Dedicated Economic Centre to other areas.
"Most farmers who arrived at the Dedicated Economic Centre in Nuwara Eliya from other areas transported their vegetables in plastic crates even though they were free to transport their produce from farms to economic centres in any mode," he said.
Thambuththegama Dedicated Economic Center manager Prashan Rajapaksa said that 75 percent of transporters and traders are using plastic crates to transport vegetables to other areas from the Thambuthethegama Dedicated Economic Centre.
Keppetipola Dedicated Economic Center manager Isuru Bandara said that vendors and transporters are using plastic crates to transport five specified categories of vegetables including tomatoes, carrot, capsicum, cucumber and lettuce. "They transport these vegetables from the Keppetipola Dedicated Economic Center to other parts of the country."
Meegoda Dedicated Economic Center manager Ruwan Kumara said around 1.4 million of plastic crates have been distributed among traders and transporters to transport vegetables.
"The use of plastic crates to transport vegetables and fruits is 70 percent successful at the Meegoda Dedicated Economic Centre," he said.
Narahenpita Dedicated Economic Center manager Jude Ranasinghe said traders and transporters are using plastic crates to transport not only the specified 11 vegetables, but also various other vegetables and fruit.
Around 90 percent are using plastic crates at the Narahenpita Dedicated Economic Center.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/02/03/news20.asp
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Bananas to be cultivated in NWP
Ariyapala Wansathilake, Kurunegala Central Spl Corr
The Food Production Development Unit of the Agro and Food Technology Organization, has started to grow bananas in selected Divisional Secretary areas in the North Western Province.
Under this programme, it has been proposed to provide high grade saplings, adequate water supply, organic fertilizer and the latest technical advice, according to a spokeswoman, who stated that the fertilizer would be channelled through the North Western Provincial Council. She said that banana was one of the most important fruits cultivated in all parts of Sri Lanka.
She further stated that the food product development group hopes to collaborate with potential entrepreneurs in developing banana products for commercialisation.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/02/02/news23.asp
The Food Production Development Unit of the Agro and Food Technology Organization, has started to grow bananas in selected Divisional Secretary areas in the North Western Province.
Under this programme, it has been proposed to provide high grade saplings, adequate water supply, organic fertilizer and the latest technical advice, according to a spokeswoman, who stated that the fertilizer would be channelled through the North Western Provincial Council. She said that banana was one of the most important fruits cultivated in all parts of Sri Lanka.
She further stated that the food product development group hopes to collaborate with potential entrepreneurs in developing banana products for commercialisation.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/02/02/news23.asp
Monday, January 30, 2012
Cultivation and food imports (2 items)
මේ වසරේදී කුරක්කන්, උඳු, තල, බඩඉරිඟු සහ රටකජු ආනයනය නතර කරනවා
- කෘෂිකර්ම අමාත්යාංශය කියයි
අකිත පෙරේරා
කුරක්කන්, උඳු, තල, බඩ ඉරිඟු සහ රටකජු යන ධාන්ය වර්ග පහ මේ වසරේ සිට මෙරටට ආනයනය කිරීම අත්හිටුවීමට කෘෂිකර්ම අමාත්යාංශය තීරණය කර තිබේ.
අදාළ ධාන්යවර්ග දේශීයව වැඩි වශයෙන් වගා කිරීම මෙහි අරමුණ වන අතර දැනටමත් බඩඉරිඟු නිෂ්පාදනය ඉහළ ගොස් ඇතැයිද අමාත්යාංශය කියා සිටී.
මෙම ධාන්ය වර්ග මෙරටට ආනයනය නොකිරීම තුළින් විශාල විදේශ විනිමයක් ඉතිරිකර ගත හැකි වන අතර අදාළ ධාන්ය වර්ග මෙරට තුළ නිෂ්පාදනය වැඩිකිරීම ගොවීන් දිරිගන්වන බවද කෘෂිකර්ම අමත්යාංශය වැඩිදුරටත් පවසයි.
http://www.divaina.com/2012/01/30/news18.html
Govt moves to increase production of chilli, onion etc. to save exchange
- කෘෂිකර්ම අමාත්යාංශය කියයි
අකිත පෙරේරා
කුරක්කන්, උඳු, තල, බඩ ඉරිඟු සහ රටකජු යන ධාන්ය වර්ග පහ මේ වසරේ සිට මෙරටට ආනයනය කිරීම අත්හිටුවීමට කෘෂිකර්ම අමාත්යාංශය තීරණය කර තිබේ.
අදාළ ධාන්යවර්ග දේශීයව වැඩි වශයෙන් වගා කිරීම මෙහි අරමුණ වන අතර දැනටමත් බඩඉරිඟු නිෂ්පාදනය ඉහළ ගොස් ඇතැයිද අමාත්යාංශය කියා සිටී.
මෙම ධාන්ය වර්ග මෙරටට ආනයනය නොකිරීම තුළින් විශාල විදේශ විනිමයක් ඉතිරිකර ගත හැකි වන අතර අදාළ ධාන්ය වර්ග මෙරට තුළ නිෂ්පාදනය වැඩිකිරීම ගොවීන් දිරිගන්වන බවද කෘෂිකර්ම අමත්යාංශය වැඩිදුරටත් පවසයි.
http://www.divaina.com/2012/01/30/news18.html
Govt moves to increase production of chilli, onion etc. to save exchange
By Pabodha Hettige
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had requested the Ministry of Agriculture to initiate a programme to achieve self sufficiency in production of additional crops such as green gram, maize, onions, cow pea, chilli and peanuts, Additional Secretary to the Ministry, S. Emitiyagoda said.
"The ministry has taken steps to set up zones to cultivate such crops in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Puttlam and many other districts in the dry zone," he said.
In 2011, five billion rupees worth of dry chillies, bombay onions worth over six billion rupees and red onions worth over six billion rupees had been imported to the country.
Sri Lanka annually needs 200,000 tonnes of maize, 100,000 tonnes of Bombay onions, 20,000 tonnes of chilli and 25,000 tonnes of green grams to satisfy the domestic needs.
In order to increase the production of the additional crops the ministry had received Rs. 450 million under Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu programme, Emitiyagoda said.
The ministry had also initiated a programme to set up rice export zones at a cost of Rs. 200 million in order to increase rice exports up to 200,000 tons by 2015.
Sri Lanka currently produces an excess of 300,000 tons of rice per year after satisfying the country’s domestic demand.
Currently Sri Lanka exports nearly 10,000 tons of rice to overseas markets. The ministry would also implement programmes to produce rice varieties, which has a high demand in international markets, Emitiyagoda said.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=44225
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had requested the Ministry of Agriculture to initiate a programme to achieve self sufficiency in production of additional crops such as green gram, maize, onions, cow pea, chilli and peanuts, Additional Secretary to the Ministry, S. Emitiyagoda said.
"The ministry has taken steps to set up zones to cultivate such crops in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Puttlam and many other districts in the dry zone," he said.
In 2011, five billion rupees worth of dry chillies, bombay onions worth over six billion rupees and red onions worth over six billion rupees had been imported to the country.
Sri Lanka annually needs 200,000 tonnes of maize, 100,000 tonnes of Bombay onions, 20,000 tonnes of chilli and 25,000 tonnes of green grams to satisfy the domestic needs.
In order to increase the production of the additional crops the ministry had received Rs. 450 million under Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu programme, Emitiyagoda said.
The ministry had also initiated a programme to set up rice export zones at a cost of Rs. 200 million in order to increase rice exports up to 200,000 tons by 2015.
Sri Lanka currently produces an excess of 300,000 tons of rice per year after satisfying the country’s domestic demand.
Currently Sri Lanka exports nearly 10,000 tons of rice to overseas markets. The ministry would also implement programmes to produce rice varieties, which has a high demand in international markets, Emitiyagoda said.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=44225
Thursday, January 12, 2012
දිවි නැගුම වැඩසටහන යටතේ සෑම ඉඩමකින්ම උපරිම ප්රයෝජන ගන්නවා
ඇමැති බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ
පවතින ගෙවතු වගා වැඩසටහන පුළුල් කරමින් අක්කර දෙකහමාර දක්වා වූ ඉඩම්වල එළවළු, පලතුරු, මල් ඇතුළු වගාවන් ඇතිකර රටේ ආර්ථිකය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට 2012 වසරේදී දිවි නැගුම වැඩසටහන යටතේ පියවර ගන්නා බව ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන අමාත්ය බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා ප්රකාශ කළේය.
පසුගියදා පාර්ලිමේන්තු පරිශ්රයේදී පැවැති දිවි නැගුම වැඩසටහනේ මෙහෙයුම් කමිටු සාකච්ඡාවට එක්වෙමින් අමාත්යවරයා මේ බව පැවැසීය. එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ අමාත්යවරයා සඳහන් කළේ 2011 වසර තුළ පවුල් විසිඑක් ලක්ෂ තුන් දහසක් දිවි නැගුම වැඩසටහනට සම්බන්ධ බවයි. එය 2012 වසරේදී ගෘහ ඒකක විසිපන් ලක්ෂයක් දක්වා ව්යාප්ත කිරීමට නියමිත බව ද අමාත්යවරයා මෙහිදී පැවැසීය.
මෙරට වගා කළ හැකි ද්රව්ය පිටරටින් ආනයනය කිරීම සඳහා විශාල මුදලක් වැයකර ඇති බව ද අමාත්යවරයා පෙන්වා දුන්නේය. ඔහු සඳහන් කළේ වියළි මිරිස් ආනයනය සඳහා පමණක් ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 50 ක් පමණ වැයකර ඇති බවයි.
http://www.divaina.com/2012/01/12/news21.html
පවතින ගෙවතු වගා වැඩසටහන පුළුල් කරමින් අක්කර දෙකහමාර දක්වා වූ ඉඩම්වල එළවළු, පලතුරු, මල් ඇතුළු වගාවන් ඇතිකර රටේ ආර්ථිකය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට 2012 වසරේදී දිවි නැගුම වැඩසටහන යටතේ පියවර ගන්නා බව ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන අමාත්ය බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා ප්රකාශ කළේය.
පසුගියදා පාර්ලිමේන්තු පරිශ්රයේදී පැවැති දිවි නැගුම වැඩසටහනේ මෙහෙයුම් කමිටු සාකච්ඡාවට එක්වෙමින් අමාත්යවරයා මේ බව පැවැසීය. එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ අමාත්යවරයා සඳහන් කළේ 2011 වසර තුළ පවුල් විසිඑක් ලක්ෂ තුන් දහසක් දිවි නැගුම වැඩසටහනට සම්බන්ධ බවයි. එය 2012 වසරේදී ගෘහ ඒකක විසිපන් ලක්ෂයක් දක්වා ව්යාප්ත කිරීමට නියමිත බව ද අමාත්යවරයා මෙහිදී පැවැසීය.
මෙරට වගා කළ හැකි ද්රව්ය පිටරටින් ආනයනය කිරීම සඳහා විශාල මුදලක් වැයකර ඇති බව ද අමාත්යවරයා පෙන්වා දුන්නේය. ඔහු සඳහන් කළේ වියළි මිරිස් ආනයනය සඳහා පමණක් ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 50 ක් පමණ වැයකර ඇති බවයි.
http://www.divaina.com/2012/01/12/news21.html
Monday, January 2, 2012
Soya, maize to be cultivated on large scale
Nimal Wijesinghe Anuradhapura Additional District group correspondent
Soya and maize will be cultivated in the North Central Province on 100,000 acres in Maha and Yala cultivation seasons this year, North Central Chief Minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake said.
There is a record awakening of paddy cultivation in the NCP and there has been a surplus harvest at present. Soya, maize and kurakkan will be cultivated on large scale in the region to make the farmer community richer. ‘The Provincial Council with government support will make ample stores and marketing facilities available for the farmer,” the Chief Minister emphasized.
Secretary to the Finance Ministry P B Jayasundara in his recent tour in Anuradhapura said that it was planned to put up a range of storage complexes with modern facilities in the Anuradhapura district where the paddy and other crops harvest could be stored safely and at these centres drying and processing facilities would also be provided. Under this programme a large scale warehouse complex would be constructed in Yakalla in Huruluwewa area.
The World Food Programme would patronize the storage facilities upgrading venture. It was disclosed at the discussions that a large building complex consisting of 125,000 square feet, at Oyamaduwa, Deyata Kirula exhibition grounds would be converted to a crops storage complex after the exhibition.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/01/02/news29.asp
Soya and maize will be cultivated in the North Central Province on 100,000 acres in Maha and Yala cultivation seasons this year, North Central Chief Minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake said.
There is a record awakening of paddy cultivation in the NCP and there has been a surplus harvest at present. Soya, maize and kurakkan will be cultivated on large scale in the region to make the farmer community richer. ‘The Provincial Council with government support will make ample stores and marketing facilities available for the farmer,” the Chief Minister emphasized.
Secretary to the Finance Ministry P B Jayasundara in his recent tour in Anuradhapura said that it was planned to put up a range of storage complexes with modern facilities in the Anuradhapura district where the paddy and other crops harvest could be stored safely and at these centres drying and processing facilities would also be provided. Under this programme a large scale warehouse complex would be constructed in Yakalla in Huruluwewa area.
The World Food Programme would patronize the storage facilities upgrading venture. It was disclosed at the discussions that a large building complex consisting of 125,000 square feet, at Oyamaduwa, Deyata Kirula exhibition grounds would be converted to a crops storage complex after the exhibition.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/01/02/news29.asp
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Post-harvest wastage causes high prices: Corrugated packaging for veggies - ideal solution
By Dhaneshi YATAWARA
According to statistics that whirled around the world in 2009 about one billion earth dwellers suffer from hunger. Out of this nearly 642 million people are in the Asian and Pacific regions. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has estimated that considering the world food production there is enough food in the world to feed every earth dweller with at least 2720 kilo calories per person per day. The real problem lies mainly with the domestic level food insecurity and low ability of the people to purchase food. Isn't everyone complaining about the thundering market prices of the humble vegetable? But rarely anyone would seek for the real reason. Lately the focus was on transportation methods of vegetables and fruits. Government concern in trying to impose standards and regulations is a positive approach in protecting the rights of the consumer.
Though being a land of farmers and with a long standing agriculture history, Sri Lanka, strangely, lacks an evenly distributed diversity of vegetables and fruits in the market. There could be problems with the supply as well as the demand. What needs to be done right now is the question? This was much discussed at the recently held Global Forum for Sri Lankan Scientists organized by the Ministry of Technology and Research. Scientists don't give an alarming situation of food security in Sri Lanka. Yet the high prices of vegetables do create a problem and as identified waste of vegetables due to improper transportation causes much of the problem. It is a problem created due to the lack of practical approach to proper post harvest techniques.
"In Sri Lanka we see a huge post harvest wastage in vegetables and fruits. Yet this is multi-disciplinary situation," said Dr. Shanthi Wilson, Additional Director (Research and Development) of the Industrial Technology Institute. "Techniques should focus on preventing loss due to physical injury and this includes several components," Dr. Wilson added. She further explained that minimizing vibration in transporting vehicles, using cushioning material for fruits and vegetables, using proper harvesting tools and harvesting at the correct time - all contribute to prevent the loss at the end that would burden the consumer. "Many of these vehicles that transport vegetables need to travel on bumpy roads and looking at the suspensions of these vehicles and if they are not working properly it would also lead to damaging the harvest. Thus it is essential to maintain these vehicles properly," she added.
The other aspect would be to look at using cushioning material while transporting," she added. According to Dr. Wilson the ITI is carrying out researches in collaboration with foreign universities to find out ways and means of proper transport of fruits and vegetables. It was highlighted that using corrugated packaging would be an ideal solution. This would suit the trade as these cardboard boxes can be discarded when the goods are transported to the retail market. The problem that transporters raised when the request came to use plastic crates was that the hindrance to their business venture on return. If the packaging is of bio degradable material it can be properly disposed without damaging the environment and giving space to the business as well.
Other than this, farmers' harvesting practices also matter in reducing post harvest loss, as she further explained. "As we don't have very large scale cultivations it will be difficult for the farmers to use hi tech harvesting machines but at least to an extent it should happen. This must be implemented even at the few large scale cultivations we have in Sri Lanka mainly owned by the private sector,"she added. The farmers should be knowledgeable in maturity indices of fruits and vegetables so as to harvest on correct time - not too raw or not too ripe. Though we are not a big country it does take few days for the vegetables and fruits to reach the consumer from the time of harvest. Thus it is essential to have a mechanism to keep the maturing process of fruits and vegetables inhibited until it reaches its destination. Edible wax that is used to cover these fruits and vegetables is a popular solution. In Sri Lanka what inhibits farmers and traders in this business from buying this is that so far we only had the imported wax that was quite expensive.
The other aspect would be to look at using cushioning material while transporting," she added. According to Dr. Wilson the ITI is carrying out researches in collaboration with foreign universities to find out ways and means of proper transport of fruits and vegetables. It was highlighted that using corrugated packaging would be an ideal solution. This would suit the trade as these cardboard boxes can be discarded when the goods are transported to the retail market. The problem that transporters raised when the request came to use plastic crates was that the hindrance to their business venture on return. If the packaging is of bio degradable material it can be properly disposed without damaging the environment and giving space to the business as well.
Other than this, farmers' harvesting practices also matter in reducing post harvest loss, as she further explained. "As we don't have very large scale cultivations it will be difficult for the farmers to use hi tech harvesting machines but at least to an extent it should happen. This must be implemented even at the few large scale cultivations we have in Sri Lanka mainly owned by the private sector,"she added. The farmers should be knowledgeable in maturity indices of fruits and vegetables so as to harvest on correct time - not too raw or not too ripe. Though we are not a big country it does take few days for the vegetables and fruits to reach the consumer from the time of harvest. Thus it is essential to have a mechanism to keep the maturing process of fruits and vegetables inhibited until it reaches its destination. Edible wax that is used to cover these fruits and vegetables is a popular solution. In Sri Lanka what inhibits farmers and traders in this business from buying this is that so far we only had the imported wax that was quite expensive.
Industrial Technology Institute has invented a new variety of edible wax that could be used to preserve and protect fruits and vegetables more effectively to keep them fresh during the journey from the farm to the household. "These edible waxes are not harmful to the people. It only covers the fruit or the vegetable and keeps it in its original state until it reaches the consumer," Dr. Wilson explained. The product can also delay the natural process of fruit ripening. It can be applied after the harvest, prior to sending them to distribution centres. According to her post harvest diseases also play a major role to the loss. These diseases are aggravated with the physical loss to the goods. Anthracnose and stem end rot are major post harvest diseases that can be found mainly in tropical fruits. The new wax will minimise damage during transportation, preserve the products for long hours and prevent damage due to such micro-organisms. Another method would be to use biological agents as controls to such pathogens - one such bio tool is yeast. Though still under research it is found that Fungi can be used as a biological control. In Sri Lanka tests for all these aspects have given promising results to papaya, king coconut, pineapple and mangoes. The cold wax treatment is used especially in the export sector but this can be transferred to the local business sector too.
According to Dr. D.G. Jayawardane's presentation at the Global Forum for Sri Lankan Scientists, Sri Lanka is self sufficient in many products. For rice in 2010 the per capita consumption has been around 109 kilograms per year and that year per capita availability of rice has been 127 kilograms per year. We are 65% self sufficient in Kurakkan (bran) production. Cowpea it is 95% self sufficiency. With vegetables, Dr. Jayawardane explained that Sri Lanka has hardly any imports - we are on an average 60% self sufficient in vegetables. In fruits, though it depends on the season Sri Lanka imports only a portion which includes fruits that grow in temperate regions. In such a situation Sri Lanka shows a great potential to further grow in this field of market with more value added productions. With the local knowledge base Sri Lanka has come up with enough and more solutions to post harvest problems. The Vidatha centres established under the Ministry of Technology and Research have been a great resource for these scientists to transfer this knowledge to the farmers. At this moment it is essential to expand the receiving group and include all sectors involved in fruit and vegetable business at all levels from the farm to the household. This is so because at the the end it is the entire populace of the country will be benefited with good quality healthy food at a reasonable price.
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/12/25/fea13.asp
According to Dr. D.G. Jayawardane's presentation at the Global Forum for Sri Lankan Scientists, Sri Lanka is self sufficient in many products. For rice in 2010 the per capita consumption has been around 109 kilograms per year and that year per capita availability of rice has been 127 kilograms per year. We are 65% self sufficient in Kurakkan (bran) production. Cowpea it is 95% self sufficiency. With vegetables, Dr. Jayawardane explained that Sri Lanka has hardly any imports - we are on an average 60% self sufficient in vegetables. In fruits, though it depends on the season Sri Lanka imports only a portion which includes fruits that grow in temperate regions. In such a situation Sri Lanka shows a great potential to further grow in this field of market with more value added productions. With the local knowledge base Sri Lanka has come up with enough and more solutions to post harvest problems. The Vidatha centres established under the Ministry of Technology and Research have been a great resource for these scientists to transfer this knowledge to the farmers. At this moment it is essential to expand the receiving group and include all sectors involved in fruit and vegetable business at all levels from the farm to the household. This is so because at the the end it is the entire populace of the country will be benefited with good quality healthy food at a reasonable price.
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/12/25/fea13.asp
Friday, December 23, 2011
මාස් කන්නයට මන්නාරමේ අක්කර 46000ක වී වගා කෙරේ
නිමල් විජේසිංහ අනුරාධපුර අතිරේක දිස්ත්රික් සමූහ
මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික්කයේ මෙවර මාස් කන්නයේ දී අක්කර 46000 ක වී වගා කෙරේ. කලාපය තුළ මෙවැනි මහ පරිමාණ වී වගා කිරීමක් සිදු වනුයේ වසර තිස් දෙකකට පමණ පසුව බව මන්නාරම ප්රධාන වාරිමාර්ග ඉංජිනේරු පාලිත වික්රමතිලක මහතා පැවසීය.
මන්නාරම මුරුගන්හි යෝධ වැව අගතිමුරිප්පු සහ වියාදිකුලම් මහ වැව් යටතේ මෙවර පිළිවෙළින් අක්කර 30,000, 6000 සහ අක්කර 4000 ක මුළුමනින්ම වී වගා කර ඇතැයි ද සෑම වැවක්ම වාන් මට්ටමට පිරී ඉතිරී ගොස් තිබෙන බවද වික්රමතිලක මහතා වැඩිදුරටත් සඳහන් කළේ ය. 2011 / 2012 මාස් කන්නය තුළ මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික්කයෙන් අපේක්ෂිත අස්වැන්න බුසල් 69,00,000 කි.
මන්නාරම යෝධ වැව හා එහි එල්ලංගාවට ජලය සැපයෙන ප්රධාන ජල මූලාශ්රය මල්වතු ඔය යි. ලබන පෙබරවාරි මාසය තුළ අනුරාධපුර මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික් මායිමේ තන්තිරිමලයට ඔබ්බෙන් අක්කර අඩි 1,50,000 ක ජල ධාරිතාවයකින් හෙබි පහළ මල්වතුඔය ජලාශය ඉදිකිරීමේ කටයුතු ආරම්භ කිරීමට අවශ්ය මූලික විධිවිධාන යොදා ගෙන යන බවද ඔහු අනාවරණය කළේය.
මේ අතර මෙවර මාස් කන්නයේ මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික්කයෙන් අපේක්ෂිත වී අස්වනු අලෙවි කිරීමේ පහසුකම් සලසාදීමට අවශ්ය පියවර ගන්නා මෙන් ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන ඇමැති බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා අදාළ අංශවලට කල්තියාම උපදෙස් දී තිබේ. පසුගිය මාසයේ මන්නාරම ප්රදේශයේ මධ්යම පරිමාණ වී මෝල් තුනක් අමාත්යවරයා අතින් විවෘත කෙරුණි.
http://www.dinamina.lk/2011/12/23/_art.asp?fn=n1112239
මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික්කයේ මෙවර මාස් කන්නයේ දී අක්කර 46000 ක වී වගා කෙරේ. කලාපය තුළ මෙවැනි මහ පරිමාණ වී වගා කිරීමක් සිදු වනුයේ වසර තිස් දෙකකට පමණ පසුව බව මන්නාරම ප්රධාන වාරිමාර්ග ඉංජිනේරු පාලිත වික්රමතිලක මහතා පැවසීය.
මන්නාරම මුරුගන්හි යෝධ වැව අගතිමුරිප්පු සහ වියාදිකුලම් මහ වැව් යටතේ මෙවර පිළිවෙළින් අක්කර 30,000, 6000 සහ අක්කර 4000 ක මුළුමනින්ම වී වගා කර ඇතැයි ද සෑම වැවක්ම වාන් මට්ටමට පිරී ඉතිරී ගොස් තිබෙන බවද වික්රමතිලක මහතා වැඩිදුරටත් සඳහන් කළේ ය. 2011 / 2012 මාස් කන්නය තුළ මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික්කයෙන් අපේක්ෂිත අස්වැන්න බුසල් 69,00,000 කි.
මන්නාරම යෝධ වැව හා එහි එල්ලංගාවට ජලය සැපයෙන ප්රධාන ජල මූලාශ්රය මල්වතු ඔය යි. ලබන පෙබරවාරි මාසය තුළ අනුරාධපුර මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික් මායිමේ තන්තිරිමලයට ඔබ්බෙන් අක්කර අඩි 1,50,000 ක ජල ධාරිතාවයකින් හෙබි පහළ මල්වතුඔය ජලාශය ඉදිකිරීමේ කටයුතු ආරම්භ කිරීමට අවශ්ය මූලික විධිවිධාන යොදා ගෙන යන බවද ඔහු අනාවරණය කළේය.
මේ අතර මෙවර මාස් කන්නයේ මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික්කයෙන් අපේක්ෂිත වී අස්වනු අලෙවි කිරීමේ පහසුකම් සලසාදීමට අවශ්ය පියවර ගන්නා මෙන් ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන ඇමැති බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා අදාළ අංශවලට කල්තියාම උපදෙස් දී තිබේ. පසුගිය මාසයේ මන්නාරම ප්රදේශයේ මධ්යම පරිමාණ වී මෝල් තුනක් අමාත්යවරයා අතින් විවෘත කෙරුණි.
http://www.dinamina.lk/2011/12/23/_art.asp?fn=n1112239
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Good decision implemented in a bad way
If anything, the present dispensation will be remembered for its penchant to make a mess of most things. The plastic crate issue is classically illustrative and a fine example of doing the right things in the wrong way!
It is stated that a colossal loss of 35 to 40% takes place in perishables (vegetables and fruit) between farm and kitchen. It is perfectly reasonable to act so that such loss could be eliminated or diminished. This will be about the only way in which the twin objectives of improving farmer prices and consumer costs can be simultaneously achieved A loss avoided is as good (or better) than an increase in output. Bad handling and poor packaging are important reasons for the loss of perishables. An obvious way of achieving the desired result is to pack delicate produce in suitable plastic crates.
If this much is agreed, the players in this chain are growers -> collectors -> wholesale handlers -> crate manufacturers ->lorry transporters -> wholesale receivers -> retailers -> consumers.
The sensible option,- given the lead time available - would have been to bring together representatives (say two) of each group to hear their problems. In the absence of such information, they are likely to centre around cost, convenience (growers) dispatch and return of empties (collectors), crate pricing (manufacturers), economical packing (transporters), quality produce (retailers and consumers).
The sticking points, which are easily verifiable for truthfulness and remediable are:-
Is it true that six crate loads can be packed into one sack? How do the weights loaded into a lorry in sacks and crates compare? If crates are made to a modular size, can the difference in loading capacity be met or reduced? What is the price of a crate (claimed to be 1,400)? Since crates are returnable, are the handling and transport charges reasonable (said to be 600 per crate)? All the above are amenable to proof.
If egg producers, beverage manufacturers and live chicken sellers can use crates, is there a real problem? Is it not more likely that the arrogant and inflexible attitudes of "I will implement it, come what may" and "We will not change" are the real (and rather stupid) positions of the contending parties, the true reason?
In Israel, I have seen vegetable (brinjal) growers pack their trimmed, wiped glossy produce into export-ready boxes, labelled (for identification of source) ready for air freight right from the field. In the Philippines, bananas are dehanded, fungicide-dipped and likewise finally packed into boxes at the plantation itself. The will is the need.
Any in the hierarchy that have been remiss, unconcerned or negligent for the past many months, should be punished. Otherwise, we will continue to force vegetables into poly-sacks, to sweat and boil, squash then into (and onto) rattling lorries,have a couple of chaps reclining comfortably (for security and "passa hari’ reasons) to be inflicted on a compliant and helpless lot of consumers and garbage lot rummagers.
By the way, those jolly innovators who propose to turn waste polythene bags into diesel for automobiles, may much more prudently turn their genius towards making economical vegetable crates. If they need the technology, the Municipality of Bangalore have long been turning waste plastics into buckets, bins and other low price receptacles.
Since we already claim to know how to catalytically solubilize plastic, all we need are the moulds.
Dr. U.Pethiyagoda
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=41322
Friday, December 16, 2011
Green peas cultivation to get off ground
Athapattu Bandara
Green peas cultivation which was introduced between Yala and Maha seasons was successful and over 500 acres have been cultivated, Moneragala District Inter Provincial Agriculture Department sources said.
About 160,000 kilograms are expected from Okkampitiya and Siyambalanduwa in the Moneragala district. Green pea cultivation was experimented in abandoned paddyfields.
Moneragala District Inter Provincial Agriculture Department Additional Secretary H.D.K. De S. Siriwardena said that this type of leguminous plants would fertile the soil and will bring a good revenue for farmers as the cost is low for the cultivation. As an inter seasonal crop, Green peas will be the best alternative for the farmers, he said.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/12/16/news38.asp
Green peas cultivation which was introduced between Yala and Maha seasons was successful and over 500 acres have been cultivated, Moneragala District Inter Provincial Agriculture Department sources said.
About 160,000 kilograms are expected from Okkampitiya and Siyambalanduwa in the Moneragala district. Green pea cultivation was experimented in abandoned paddyfields.
Moneragala District Inter Provincial Agriculture Department Additional Secretary H.D.K. De S. Siriwardena said that this type of leguminous plants would fertile the soil and will bring a good revenue for farmers as the cost is low for the cultivation. As an inter seasonal crop, Green peas will be the best alternative for the farmers, he said.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/12/16/news38.asp
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
වී යටකරගෙන කෙසෙල් එයි
වියදම අඩුයි - ආදායම වැඩියි ගොවීහු කියති
සී.එම්. ආරියපාල - තඹුත්තේගම
වී ගොවිතැන සඳහා වැඩිපුර වියදමක් සහ ශ්රම දායකත්වයක් වැය කළ යුතු නිසා රාජාංගනය ගොවි ජනපදයේ ගොවියන් ගොවිතැනින් ඉවත් වී කෙසෙල් සහ පොල් වගාව සඳහා යොමු වී ඇති බව වාර්තා වේ. මුලදී වී ගොවිතැන සඳහා වෙන්කළ කුඹුරු ඉඩම්වල දැන් 1/3 ක් පමණ කෙසෙල් වගාව සිදුකර ඇති බව වාර්තා වේ.
දැනට වී වලින් හොඳ ආදායමක් නොලැබෙන නිසා වී වෙනුවට කෙසෙල් වගා කිරීමට පුරුදු වී ඇති බව රාජාංගනය යාය 04 පදිංචි එම්. ජී. කරුණාසේන ගොවි මහතා මෙසේ පැවැසීය. රාජාංගනය යාය 04, 1 ඇළ යටතේ අක්කර 80 ක් පමණ ඇති අතර දැනට එහි පොල් හා කෙසෙල් අක්කර 40 ක් පමණ වගා කර තිබෙනවා. රාජාංගනය යායා 04 ප්රදේශයේ අක්කර 220 ක් පමණ කෙසෙල් හා පොල් වගාකර තිබෙනවා.මේවා වගා කිරීමේදී වැඩි ආදායමක් ලැබෙන අතර වැයවන කුලී ප්රමාණය ද අඩුයි. පොහොර සහ යොදන කෘමිනාශක ප්රමාණය ද ඉතාමත් අඩුය. ඉදිරි කාලයේදී කෑම පිණිස වී සොයා ගැනීමට පවා අපහසු වීමට ඉඩ තියෙනවා.
ආරියදාස ඩයස් ගොවි මහතා, මුලදී අප වගා කළ වී සඳහා වැඩි වියදමක් දැරීමට සිදුවන අතර වැඩි මහන්සියක්ද දැරීමට සිදු වෙනවා. කෙසෙල්වලට වැය කිරීමට සිදුවන වියදමත් ශ්රම දායකත්වයක් අඩු නිසා ගොවියෝ කෙසෙල් වගාවට යොමු වී තිබෙනවා. මා කෙසෙල් අක්කර 2 1/2 ක් පමණ වගාකර තිබෙනවා.
ප්රෑන්සිස් ගමගේ ගොවි මහතා - කෙසෙල් වලින් ලැබෙන වැඩිපුර ආදායම නිසා රාජාංගනය ප්රදේශයේ ගොවියෝ දැන් කුඹුරු ගොඩකර කෙසෙල් වගා කිරීමට පුරුදු වෙලා කෙසෙල්වලට වී වලට වැඩියෙන් ආදායමක් ලැබෙනවා. රාජාංගනය යාය 04,1 ඇළ ප්රදේශයේ කුඹුරු අක්කර 70 ක් තිබෙන අතර ඉන් හරි අඩක් කුඹුරුවල කෙසෙල් වගා කර තිබෙනවා.
වීවලට හොඳ මිලක් නැති නිසා ගොවියාගේ ශ්රමයට ගැළපෙන ආදායම නොලැබෙන හෙයින් අප කෙසෙල් වගාවට යොමු වුණා.
රාජාංගනය යාය 01,02,03, 04 ප්රදේශවල අපි සංචාරය කළ අතර අපට නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමට හැකි වූයේ මුලදී, වගාකළ කුඹුරු වීකෙත්වතු දැන් කෙසෙල් වතු බවට පත්වී ඇති අයුරුයි.
ගොවිජන සේවා ප්රාදේශීය නිලධාරිනී කේ. එම්. එන්. දිල්රුක්ෂි ගුණතිලක මහත්මිය කියා සිටියේ රාජාංගනය දකුණු ඉවුර ගොවි ජනපදයේ දැනට ගොඩ ඉඩම් අක්කර 8268 ක්ද මඩ ඉඩම් අක්කර 9248 ක් ද තිබෙන බවත් ඉන් මඩ ඉඩම්වල ගොවියෝ කෙසෙල් වගාවට යොමු වීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් තමාට තොරතුරු ලැබී ඒ ගැන සොයා බැලූ බවත් එසේ නොකරන ලෙසට කීපවිටක්ම අවවාද කළත් ඔවුන් එම වගා කටයුතු නවතා නොදමන බවයි. මේ අතර ඇතැම් ගොවියන් කුඹුරුවල පොල් ද වගා කර තිබෙනවා. ගොවීන් සමඟ කතා කරනවිට ඔවුන් කියන්නේ වතුර හැරවීමේ දී ප්රශ්න ඇති හෙයින් පොල් සහ කෙසෙල් වගා කරන බවයි.
http://www.divaina.com/2011/12/14/provin03.html
සී.එම්. ආරියපාල - තඹුත්තේගම
වී ගොවිතැන සඳහා වැඩිපුර වියදමක් සහ ශ්රම දායකත්වයක් වැය කළ යුතු නිසා රාජාංගනය ගොවි ජනපදයේ ගොවියන් ගොවිතැනින් ඉවත් වී කෙසෙල් සහ පොල් වගාව සඳහා යොමු වී ඇති බව වාර්තා වේ. මුලදී වී ගොවිතැන සඳහා වෙන්කළ කුඹුරු ඉඩම්වල දැන් 1/3 ක් පමණ කෙසෙල් වගාව සිදුකර ඇති බව වාර්තා වේ.
දැනට වී වලින් හොඳ ආදායමක් නොලැබෙන නිසා වී වෙනුවට කෙසෙල් වගා කිරීමට පුරුදු වී ඇති බව රාජාංගනය යාය 04 පදිංචි එම්. ජී. කරුණාසේන ගොවි මහතා මෙසේ පැවැසීය. රාජාංගනය යාය 04, 1 ඇළ යටතේ අක්කර 80 ක් පමණ ඇති අතර දැනට එහි පොල් හා කෙසෙල් අක්කර 40 ක් පමණ වගා කර තිබෙනවා. රාජාංගනය යායා 04 ප්රදේශයේ අක්කර 220 ක් පමණ කෙසෙල් හා පොල් වගාකර තිබෙනවා.මේවා වගා කිරීමේදී වැඩි ආදායමක් ලැබෙන අතර වැයවන කුලී ප්රමාණය ද අඩුයි. පොහොර සහ යොදන කෘමිනාශක ප්රමාණය ද ඉතාමත් අඩුය. ඉදිරි කාලයේදී කෑම පිණිස වී සොයා ගැනීමට පවා අපහසු වීමට ඉඩ තියෙනවා.
ආරියදාස ඩයස් ගොවි මහතා, මුලදී අප වගා කළ වී සඳහා වැඩි වියදමක් දැරීමට සිදුවන අතර වැඩි මහන්සියක්ද දැරීමට සිදු වෙනවා. කෙසෙල්වලට වැය කිරීමට සිදුවන වියදමත් ශ්රම දායකත්වයක් අඩු නිසා ගොවියෝ කෙසෙල් වගාවට යොමු වී තිබෙනවා. මා කෙසෙල් අක්කර 2 1/2 ක් පමණ වගාකර තිබෙනවා.
ප්රෑන්සිස් ගමගේ ගොවි මහතා - කෙසෙල් වලින් ලැබෙන වැඩිපුර ආදායම නිසා රාජාංගනය ප්රදේශයේ ගොවියෝ දැන් කුඹුරු ගොඩකර කෙසෙල් වගා කිරීමට පුරුදු වෙලා කෙසෙල්වලට වී වලට වැඩියෙන් ආදායමක් ලැබෙනවා. රාජාංගනය යාය 04,1 ඇළ ප්රදේශයේ කුඹුරු අක්කර 70 ක් තිබෙන අතර ඉන් හරි අඩක් කුඹුරුවල කෙසෙල් වගා කර තිබෙනවා.
වීවලට හොඳ මිලක් නැති නිසා ගොවියාගේ ශ්රමයට ගැළපෙන ආදායම නොලැබෙන හෙයින් අප කෙසෙල් වගාවට යොමු වුණා.
රාජාංගනය යාය 01,02,03, 04 ප්රදේශවල අපි සංචාරය කළ අතර අපට නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමට හැකි වූයේ මුලදී, වගාකළ කුඹුරු වීකෙත්වතු දැන් කෙසෙල් වතු බවට පත්වී ඇති අයුරුයි.
ගොවිජන සේවා ප්රාදේශීය නිලධාරිනී කේ. එම්. එන්. දිල්රුක්ෂි ගුණතිලක මහත්මිය කියා සිටියේ රාජාංගනය දකුණු ඉවුර ගොවි ජනපදයේ දැනට ගොඩ ඉඩම් අක්කර 8268 ක්ද මඩ ඉඩම් අක්කර 9248 ක් ද තිබෙන බවත් ඉන් මඩ ඉඩම්වල ගොවියෝ කෙසෙල් වගාවට යොමු වීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් තමාට තොරතුරු ලැබී ඒ ගැන සොයා බැලූ බවත් එසේ නොකරන ලෙසට කීපවිටක්ම අවවාද කළත් ඔවුන් එම වගා කටයුතු නවතා නොදමන බවයි. මේ අතර ඇතැම් ගොවියන් කුඹුරුවල පොල් ද වගා කර තිබෙනවා. ගොවීන් සමඟ කතා කරනවිට ඔවුන් කියන්නේ වතුර හැරවීමේ දී ප්රශ්න ඇති හෙයින් පොල් සහ කෙසෙල් වගා කරන බවයි.
http://www.divaina.com/2011/12/14/provin03.html
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Ministry plans to develop 13 sectors in agriculture
Priyanka Kurugala
The Agriculture Ministry has drawn up a plan to develop 13 sectors of the agricultural field under Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu Under this project the Ministry had allocated around Rs 440 million to develop the agriculture sector for the year 2012, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana said.
According to the national agricultural policy the government has drawn up a plan to cultivate every inch of the country's land to make this project a success, the government has launched some strategies utilizing short-term and medium term plans, he said.
Among them, increasing the production of other field crops, promotion of third season cultivation, improvement of agriculture production, productivity by involving ministries, other institutes cluster farm development for high value crops, promotion of post harvest technology and agri–enterprise development programmes, initiation of social marketing(food, diet and nutrition) programme, and assisting other Agriculture extension programmes, Promotion of climate change adoptive measures, Promotion of rice flour, rice based products and production and processing of high quality rice for export market, Promotion of cultivation of organic food for niche markets are these projects, he said.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/12/13/news52.asp
The Agriculture Ministry has drawn up a plan to develop 13 sectors of the agricultural field under Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu Under this project the Ministry had allocated around Rs 440 million to develop the agriculture sector for the year 2012, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana said.
According to the national agricultural policy the government has drawn up a plan to cultivate every inch of the country's land to make this project a success, the government has launched some strategies utilizing short-term and medium term plans, he said.
Among them, increasing the production of other field crops, promotion of third season cultivation, improvement of agriculture production, productivity by involving ministries, other institutes cluster farm development for high value crops, promotion of post harvest technology and agri–enterprise development programmes, initiation of social marketing(food, diet and nutrition) programme, and assisting other Agriculture extension programmes, Promotion of climate change adoptive measures, Promotion of rice flour, rice based products and production and processing of high quality rice for export market, Promotion of cultivation of organic food for niche markets are these projects, he said.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/12/13/news52.asp
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