Agriculture Ministry to conduct field supervision programmes

Arrangements are being made by the Agriculture Ministry for conducting a series of district-level field supervision programmes and agriculture progress review meetings.

The Ministry’s Secretary B. Wijerathne told the Daily News that under this programme, Agriculture Minister Duminda Dissanayake was scheduled to have field visits on August 10 and 11 in the Jaffana and Mannar districts, respectively, with progress review meetings included in the touring schedule. Wijerathne said that the first phase of this programme was held on March 23 and 24 in the Badulla and Moraragala districts. He added that the second phase of the programme would take place on August 10 and 11, island-wide.

Referring to the second phase of the agriculture progress review meetings and field visits, Agriculture Minister Duminda Dissanayake told the Daily News that while he was touring in Jaffna and Mannar districts for the purpose, the other districts would be covered by senior staff executive officers of the Ministry with district agriculture directors, agrarian service-development authorities, staff officers, the national fertilizer secretariat, etc., simultaneously.

‘’In Jaffna and Mannar districts, I hope to personally supervise the progress being made with regard to the national crops production programme of 2016-2018, formation of Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim farmer women organisations’ (Sithamu) home-gardening programme, bee-keeping programme, establishment of fruit villages, along with other eleven ventures being conducted and implemented by the Agriculture Ministry,” Minister Dissanayake said.

‘’Except for the natural disasters such as the prevailing drought, the national food cultivation drive is progressing successfully. Regarding the home-gardening programme, 500,000 home-gardens are to be established. Under the fruit village programme, it is targeted to start 15,000 such villages and 20 selected farmers in each village will be offered 1,000 fruit plants. Two thousand fruit village had been commissioned in last year. In 2017 too, 1,683,000 plants have been distributed and 1,373 villages were established,” he added.

He said that 25,000 ‘’Sithamu’’ farmer women organisations were being established and already 22,800 societies had been formed. 456,000 farmer women have got registered to take to the concept. 

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