The government says it is building buffer stocks and trying to increase access to ‘essential food items,’ to improve food security in Sri Lanka, an official said yesterday.
Thirteen essential items -- rice, dhal, chickpeas, milk, sugar, fish, potatoes, onions, chillies, sprats, green gram, wheat and chicken -- have been targeted. The government is trying to build buffers of these essential food items that can be stocked up from domestic output and is also trying to increase market access to farmers, to make sure consumers get food at fair prices, according to Presidential Secretariat Director Janaki Kuruppu, who is also an Adviser to the Functional Group on Food Security and Cost of Living Management.Ms. Kuruppu said paddy farmers had been asked Govt. takes
to sell 10% of their output to the government, to qualify for the fertilizer subsidy for the next season. “The collection will go to build buffers. Farmers are also assured of a fair price for at least some part of their output, because these stocks are bought at prices set by the government,” she said.
“We are looking at building upto three-month buffer stocks of selected items, depending on the perishability of these items. The buffer stocks will be built up from domestic produce,” Ms Kuruppu said.
To make essential food items available to consumers at fair prices, the government is setting up Economic Centres.
According to her, already, the Narahenpita Economic Centre, which opened for business in December last year, is able to offer food items at prices which are about 20% lower than in other outlets in Colombo.
“The Economic Centres benefit producers and farmers because they give market access for goods without middle men. This way, consumers, especially the urban poor, also benefit, because they get these products at lower prices and the quality is also good,” Ms. Kuruppu explained.
Another Economic Centre was opened in Ratmalana last week in time for the New Year. Yet another is due to opened in the Greater Colombo area. These centres are open daily from 4.30 pm till about 11.30 pm.
“This is to make sure they do not take business away from the normal retail outlets that operate during the day time,” said Ms. Kuruppu.Despite their non-traditional operating hours, these night shops are becoming popular fast, especially among the working people looking to do their shopping on their way home in the evening, , according to officials of the Presidential Secretariat.
Ms. Kuruppu said the government was hoping to set up information systems to forecast and manage food production. This would help control large price fluctuations of seasonal outputs and make essential food items available all year round at reasonable prices.
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