... The AgriculturesectorinSriLankaplaysakeyrolein the country’seconomicdevelopmentanditsnewrolein the futurehasnowbeenredenedin the lightof the newdevelopmentvisionand the futureaspirationsof the nation.Atpresent,agriculturecontributesabout13percentto the country’sGDPandemploysabout33percentofitsworkforce. The governmenthasgiven the prioritytoenhance the domesticproductioninwhich the successofsuchapolicywaswelldemonstratedduring the periodwheretherewasaworldfoodcrisis.Of the totalcultivableland(2.9mnha),65percent(1.9mnha)iscultivatedwithagriculturalcrops.Paddyoccupies40percentof the agriculturalland.Coconut,teaandrubbertogetheraccountfor39percent. The remainder(21percent)isaccountedforallothercrops;othereldcrops,horticulturalcropsandotherexportcrops.IZ]]r-)Hma^k+*M^Z*+Kn[[^k0<h\hgnm+)13 ... AsiaAtpresent, the agriculturalsectorfacesanumberofproblemsincludinglowproductivity,lowleveloftechnologicalinnovation,inadequatecreditows,pooraccessto international marketsandinadequateuseofqualityseedsandplantingmaterial.SriLanka’sagriculturaloutputperhectareorperagriculturalworkerissignicantlylowerthanthatof the neighboringAsiancountries. The lowlevelofproductivityandover-employmentare the keyissuesforthisunfavorableoutcome.About44percentof the agriculturallandsaresparselyusedbuthaveahugepotentialfordevelopment.Itappearsthat the scienticknowledgeavailableininstitutionsishardlylinkedto the extensionservices.Muchresearchisneitherlinkedtonordoesaddresseither emerging oractualneedsof the community.Thoughalargenumberofruralpeopleareengagedinagriculture,theyarenotversedinmodernscienticagriculturalmethods.Asaresult,inputssuchaswater,fertilizerandchemicalsareeitheroverusedorinappropriatelyused. The cropsarealsoselectedwithoutconsidering the emerging needsin the market.Shortagesand the inconsistentsupplyofvalueaddedproductsmeeting the highglobalhygienicstandardshaveactedasanimpedimenttoglobalmarketaccessfor the sector.Inadequatecreditowsfromformalbankinginstitutionshaveimpeded the smoothfunctioningof the sector.Shortageofqualityseedsandplantingmaterialremainamajorissueinincreasingproductionandproductivity.Atpresent,only35percentof the seedpaddyrequirementisprovidedbybothprivatesectorand the Government.Toaddresstheseissues, the Governmentintendstointroduceaseriesofmeasures.Accordingly, the Governmentplaceshighpriorityonmodernizationofagriculturalpracticesandimprovementofproductivityandcompetitivenesswhileenhancing the valueadditionandproductdiversicationtogeneratenewincomesandviableemploymentopportunities.Itisplannedtoraise the agriculturaloutputsignicantlyduring the nextdecade,whilemaintainingitscontributiontoGDPatasatisfactorylevel.Accordingly, the Governmentwillsupportallmajorstepsin the productioncycle;fromcultivationtomarketinginbothdomesticand international markets.Thiswilllead the agriculturesectortogrowat10percentduring the nextdecade. The endof the prolongedconicthasreleasedahugeamountofarablelandthatcanbeutilizedforproductivepurposes.Thiswillcomplement the efforttoachieveimprovementsin the agriculturesectorin the future. The Government’sagriculturalpolicyaimsatrealizingmultiplegoalsincluding(a)achievingfoodsecurityofpeople(b)ensuringhigherandsustainableincomeforfarmers(c)ensuringremunerativepricesforagriculturalproduce(d)uninterruptedaccesstocompetitivemarketsbothinSriLankaandabroad(e)farmmechanization(f)expanding the extentundercultivation(g)reducingwastageintransit(h)ensuringenvironmentalconservation(i)introducingefcientfarmmanagementtechniquesand(j)usinghighyieldingseedsandimprovedwatermanagement.Inthiscontext,highpriorityisplacedinachievingabroadbasedshiftfromlow-valueaddedproductstohighvalueaddedagricultureproductsaccompaniedbysustainedimprovementsinproductivityandcompetitivenessin international markets.Also,asmechanizationofagriculturalactivitieswillleadtoasignicantshiftoflabourfromagriculturetoothereconomicsectors,improvementoflabourproductivityandsatisfyinglabourrequirementsarevitalinfuture.Being the staplefoodofSriLankans,ricehasbecome the mainsourceofcalorierequirementofpeople.Atpresent,SriLankaisalmostselfsufcientinrice. The Governmentpolicyaimsatfurtherraisingproductiontoasustainablelevelover the nextdecade.14 ... 0 The countryhas the potentialtoproduceallitstropicalfruitsandvegetablesforitsneedsandalsoforexport. The policyof the Governmentistoincrease the productionoftheseitemstoattainnearselfsufciencylevelby2020.Byexpanding the irrigationfacilities,farmerswillbeproductivelyengagedincultivatingfruitsandvegetablesfarmingduring the offseasonsinexistinglandsinMoneragala,Hambantota,Matale,KurunegalaandPuttalamdistricts,and the newlyopenedareasin the NorthernandEasternProvinces. The cultivationoffruitsandvegetablesinhomegardenswillalsobepromotedbylinking the marketingnetworkdirectlywith the goodqualityseedsandadvancedcultivatingpractices.Bymovingtoward the selfsufciencyinthesecrops,opportunitieswillbeprovidedforSriLankanfarmingcommunitiestoenhancetheirincomesandgenerateruralbasedemployment.Tosafeguard the farmersfromseasonalpricedeclines,forwardmarketcontractswillbepopularizedforalmostallthesecrops....