New Agri techniques to expand the Agriculture Industry: USAID

The United States for International Development (USAID) is working to promote modern agricultural techniques in Sri Lanka in order to expand the country's agricultural industry, the Ministry of Agriculture said. 

Accordingly, yesterday, July 7, a group from USAID met with Mahinda Amaraweera, the minister of agriculture, and other authorities to talk about the project.

The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agricultural Development of Sri Lanka's relationship with farmers is currently insufficient, the USAID representatives said. 

“As a result, farmers are not informed of the government's decisions and programs, which is a serious problem for the development of agriculture,” they highlighted. 

They added that separate work arrangements should be put in place for the agricultural products of the nation that can be expected to be exported to various nations around the world. 

They further appreciated the measures taken for the export of sour bananas and the techniques introduced to obtain more yield from less land.

Paddy farming and other crops are prioritized in Sri Lanka, according to Minister Amaaweera, who also noted that it is still challenging to achieve self-sufficiency in each area.

He mentioned that especially in the rest of the world, agriculture has exceeded the subsistence level and expanded to the international market, but even some types of crops that can be easily grown in the country itself still have to be imported from abroad.  

Therefore, the minister requests to support the country's farmers to introduce new agricultural technology.