New farmer training school to popularise technology

Irangika RANGE

TRAINING SCHOOL: Ministry of Agricultural Development has decided to set up a Farmer Training School to provide training and popularise latest technology among farmers.

This school would introduce modern day technology that is utilised in foreign countries.

An official of the Ministry said that four agricultural schools in Ratnapura, Wariyapola, Bibile and Puliyankulam have been closed down for many years.

The Ministry expects to utilise one of these closed agricultural schools to be developed as a Farmer Training School.

It will provide accurate and latest technical knowledge to produce marketable products to suit modern day requirements.

Introducing of high yielding seeds, popularising of drip irrigation, promoting domestic cultivation utilising safe methods, manufacturing of organic fertilizer, popularizing high tech methods to gain high harvests and introducing of post harvest technology are other subjects in the course.

It has also planned to provide special training on the production of local agri-products focusing to cater to the export market. This would vastly increase the local farmers' livelihood increasing their contribution towards the export expansion.

The course will be conducted as a four-month residential training programme. It will give priority for youth with the objective of attracting them into farming as a profession.

The Ministry of Agrarian Services and Development of Farmer Communities, with the Bank of Ceylon, has started a new credit scheme titled 'Govi Shakthi'.

Under the scheme, the Bank of Ceylon is providing low interest loans for farmers to enhance production with the use of necessary equipment. The contribution of the agricultural sector to the GDP of the country is 17.2%. Thirty percent of the total work force of Sri Lanka is engaged in agriculture.
There are over 1,500,000 farmers in the country.
Sri Lanka is embarking on a new approach to rural development and poverty alleviation.

The entire approach to poverty alleviation and rural development is now being changed with emphasis on empowering the farmers and developing avenues to improve their well being.

Sri Lanka is making all attempts to provide the farmers with new high yielding improved varieties of crops, quality seed and management practices in a sustainable manner that will use natural resources, taking full account of the impact of these decisions on household food security, farm incomes, employment and environment.
