2750 acres from Rambaken-oya zone for maize cultivation

COLOMBO (News 1st): The Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal to grant 2,750 acres of under-utilized lands identified from the Rambaken-oya zone, for the large-scale production of maize locally, the Department of Government Information said on Tuesday (Feb. 02).  According to a statement from the Department of Government Information, these lands are those which come under the purview of the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority and do not come under any reserve. They are to be released to investors with the objective of encouraging the local agricultural producers. The proposal in this regard was submitted by the Minister of Irrigation, the Department of Government Information said. The proposal is submitted for the allocation of the relevant plots of land under lease for a period of one year to recognized local investors and to grant those relevant plots of land to the investors on long-term lease subject to the provisions of Crown Lands Ordinance depending on the progress of cultivation. The government recently took measure to limit imports of food crops that have been recognized for cultivation within the country with the objective of controlling the unnecessary influx of foreign exchange to abroad, the Government Information Department further added. Accordingly, the import of maize has been suspended that measures have to be taken to locally produce approximately 250,000 metric tonnes of maize required for the production of 'Thriposha' and other animal food.