Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera says he is confident that Sri Lanka will be able to successfully tackle the previously predicted dire food crisis due to steps taken by the government.
Speaking during the weekly Cabinet media briefing in Colombo today, Minister Amaraweera said experts warned of a major food crisis in Sri Lanka later this year.
The Minister said due to the war in Ukraine, there are reports that there will be a global food crisis this year as well.
He said in preparation, the government decided to increase the land allocated for cultivation and to import essential commodities.
Minister Amaraweera confirmed that 365,000MT of rice has been imported this year.
The Minister noted despite facing a fertiliser shortage, they also decided to increase cultivation from the Yala season.
He said initially it was decided to cultivate on 248,000 hectares of land and was later increased to 275,000 hectares.
Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said they took a decision to release government-owned land for cultivation.
The Agriculture Minister said following concerns over the food crisis and after assurances that farmers will receive adequate fertiliser, at present 475,000 hectares of land have been used for cultivation.
Minister Amaraweera acknowledged that farmers faced a fertiliser shortage during the Yala season.
He said they received full approval from the Cabinet of Ministers to procure necessary fertiliser stocks for both the Yala and Maha seasons.
