Complete ban on importing seeds?

By Shantha Chandrasiri – Talawakele

Minister of Agriculture, Mahindananda Aluthgamage said that measure would be taken to suspend the importation of seeds that can be produced locally.
He said this at a meeting held in Nuwara eliya Agrarian Service Centre to discuss about issues faced by farmers in the Nuwara eliya district.

A sum of about Rs.1900 million is spent on importation of seeds annually and steps would be taken to produce seeds locally and suspend completely the importation of seeds, he added.
Farmers are not getting a guaranteed price for their products is an issue and as a solution, we have taken steps to provide farmers’ societies with stores in economic centres. As its first step, Lindula and Ragala farmers’ societies received two stores, he added.

He also said that he would take measures to repair canals in the Nuwara eliya district through Department of Agrarian Development as a solution water scarcity for cultivation activities.
Many public officers including the Nuwara eliya district Agrarian Service Deputy Commissioner, Pushpa Weerasekara and representatives of the Nuwara eliya district farmer committees attended this meeting.