Agro-industrial zones, to set up viable commercial agricultural sector - Investment Promotion Minister

Stanley Seneviratne, Kurunegala North group correspondent

KURUNEGALA: The Government has taken immediate steps to set up agro-industrial zones, in various parts of the island in a bid to establish a viable commercial agriculture sector in Sri Lanka.

Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama has given instructions to commence preliminary work on the first such agro-industrial zone to be set up in Kandy as a Board of Investment (BoI) project.

The zones are planned to be set up in selected locations using under-utilised government farms belonging to the Department of Agriculture, Animal production and Health, Export Agriculture, Forest and National Livestock Development Board.

The agro-industrial zones would be provided with easy access to required infrastructure facilities, such as lands, electricity, roods, communication and water supply and other BoI facilities, a Ministry source told the media.

The setting up of agri-industrial zones is expected to provide an opportunity for investors to venture into macro-scale commercial agricultural ventures utilising modern technologies and infrastructure facilities.

It would also increase agricultural productivity by introducing large-scale commercial farms utilising advance technologies and reduce lost of production of fruits, vegetables and other horticultural crops.

The Government expects to generate employment to several thousands of unemployed youth and also to unemployed graduates and diploma holders in agriculture and promote young agricultural entrepreneurs by utilising the zones as training facilities for modern agriculture.

The proposed agriculture zone available for investors will include pre-cooling and cold storage faculties, drip/sprinkler irrigation facilities, farm machinery and equipment, crop protection services, agricultural inputs, processing facilities, packing and packaging services, transport facilities, marketing of produce (Local and overseas) including forward contracts and waste disposal and effluent treatment systems.

"Apart from the three main plantation crops - tea, rubber and coconut there are no commercial scale agricultural ventures in Sri Lanka to compare with any other Asian country.

By setting up agro-industrial zones, the country can make use of its geographical locations, availability of quality water resources, abundance of good soil structures easily trainable and educated labour force and reasonably well-organised shipping facilities, the source said.