Cultivating Northern, Eastern lands, a solution to economic crisis

Ishara Mudugamuwa

Sri Lanka can overcome the economic crisis by cultivating the Northern and Eastern lands, Executive Director, Sri Lanka Board of Investment Nihal Samarappuli said.

“The world suffers from the economic crisis and this global slowdown will have an adverse impact on the agricultural sector,” he said at a workshop organized by the Sri Lanka Council for Agriculture Research Policy.

However, Sri Lanka can solve this problem by using the Eastern and Northern lands. We can cultivate rice in Ampara and Killinochchi districts, promote dairy farming in all districts in the North and East Provinces and sugarcane in the Eastern Province.

The North and East coastal belt can be used to develop the fisheries sector. Palmyrah products and mango, potatoes, onions and chilies can be cultivated in the North, Samarappuli said.

“There should be a change in the minds of the farmers and then we can face this economic crisis successfully.”