Lankan Army to launch farming drive of barren land to ramp up food stocks
The Sri Lanka Army will take part in a farming drive aimed at cultivating over 1,500 acres of barren or abandoned state land to multiply food production and avert any shortage in the future, according to a media report.
The army established its Green Agriculture Steering Committee (GASC) on Thursday to supplement and promote the food security programme in Sri Lanka which is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.
The emergency project to be kicked off in July as a supportive mechanism to the government’s cultivation drive will be led by Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, Commander of the Army and Maj Gen Jagath Kodithuwakku, Chief of Staff, will supervise the project.
The troops will first prepare the ground by weeding, tilling and preparing beds for the cultivation of selected varieties in consultation with agricultural experts, newsfirst.lk reported on Friday.
All Security Force Headquarters and formations of the country are checking possibilities of adding their weight to the task.
The identification of state lands at regional level will be done in close consultation with respective governors, district and divisional secretariats, land officials and Grama Seva officials before the commencement of preliminary ground-preparing work in selected lands, the report said.
Sri Lanka has decided to import 50,000 metric tonnes of rice under the Indian credit line to curb an abnormal rise in rice prices, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday, as the island nation is grappling with an impending food shortage.
The decision was taken after a discussion held at the Prime Minister’s Office to allocate funds to the State Trading Corporation under the Indian loan assistance programme, news portal EconomyNext reported.