Value addition to meet demands of emerging markets:

Govt support for plantation sector

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The Government will provide policy support to the plantation sector to create new capacities in the economy especially for domestic resource based industries, with emphasis on value addition, to meet the demands of the emerging markets, said Plantation Minister D.M. Jayaratne.

He was speaking at a workshop on the Plantation Development Project at the Galle Face Hotel Colombo on Friday. He said that the industry could be developed into vibrant and lucrative trades through the complementary participation of strong socially responsible State and private sector involvement.

Export earnings from the three main crops - tea, rubber and coconut reached USD 200 billion in the recent past which shows the importance of this valuable sector and the Government is assisting the privatized plantations with loans through international funding agencies such as ADB and JICA considering the critical importance of the plantation sector for the country’s economy, he said.

However, these donor agencies are also concerned about the economic validity and the living and working conditions of the plantation workers and their human rights to maintain sustainable development of the plantation industry. Failure to provide them with decent living conditions will have implications in the markets and adverse reactions from consumers in developed countries.

Up to now donor agencies have infused millions of dollars into the plantation sector which is a huge sum of money when converted into Sri Lanka rupees, and the ADB has indicated that this will be the last ADB funded loan given to the plantation sector, he said.

Minister Jayaratne said that the rationale for first transferring management to the private sector was the expectation that the private sector will deploy persons with technical knowledge, skills and experience, whilst achieving significant improvements inter-alia, in operational, financial and administrative management leading to building a profitable and sustainable plantation sector and thereby relieving the financial burden of the Government’s Treasury.

The Plantations Minister has obtained Cabinet approval to provide each family with a seven-perch plot of land and to change the designations of estate workers and houses for estate staff to improve the dignity of the estate population.

The Plantation Development Project has provided long-term credit facilities to plantation companies at concessionary interest rates with a grace period for repayment. Assisting the development of worker amenities and provision of grants for tea factory upgrading to obtain HACCP certification are other facilities provided by the Fund.