By Newswire Editorial
The government has launched a new commercial agriculture project to develop 5,039 hectares of underutilised land for large-scale fruit cultivation, targeting international markets.
The project, introduced under the second phase of the Mahaweli Water Security Investment Programme, aims to transform previously underutilised upland areas into environmentally friendly commercial agricultural lands.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, the project will focus on cultivating export-oriented fruits, including mangoes, guavas, bananas, papayas and passion fruit, while rehabilitating minor tank systems to support agricultural activities.
The initiative was discussed at meetings held in Anuradhapura on Wednesday (11), with the participation of Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K.D. Lal Kantha.
The discussions took place at the National Institute of Post-Harvest Management and the C Bank premises in Anuradhapura, where stakeholders were briefed on the implementation of the project.
Under the programme, farmers will also be encouraged to cultivate intercrops such as chillies, groundnuts, watermelons, green gram and sesame to generate income during the initial years until the fruit trees reach full productivity.
The Ministry said the new agricultural lands will be supplied with water through solar-powered, demand-based pressurised pipe distribution systems to promote efficient and climate-friendly water management.
Until the completion of the North Central Province Main Canal Project, the Commercial Agriculture Development (CAD) programme will utilise existing water sources in selected tank systems to support upland cultivation.
Meanwhile, approximately 2,000 hectares of existing commercial agricultural lands are also expected to be modernised under the programme.
The Ministry said the initiative aims to improve crop quality, strengthen agricultural productivity and enable Sri Lankan agricultural products to meet international market demand. (Newswire)