The inaugural meeting to implement the District-level Agricultural Development Committees under the "Eka Mitata Govi Bimata" National Food Crop Production Promotion Program was held at the District Secretariat today (12) afternoon under the patronage of Member of Parliament Kanchana Welipitiya and Kegalle District Secretary Jagath Herath.
This committee, which is chaired by the District Director of Agriculture and has the Deputy Commissioner of Agrarian Development as its secretary, is being advised by the representative appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, Resources, Lands and Irrigation, Mr. Kanchana Walapitiya, Member of Parliament for Kegalle.
This committee is scheduled to review the progress of all proposed and implemented agricultural development programs in the district, identify problems and solutions, and submit a formal report to the District Agriculture Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture's One-to-One Agricultural Development Committee.
The main objective is to identify and direct the necessary motivational activities to achieve the expected goals of the 2025 Yala season at the district level, and to jointly implement all institutions related to agriculture belonging to the central government and provincial councils.
This program provides an opportunity to utilize all cultivable lands for national food needs, select the right crops for cultivation in the district, obtain maximum yield, and direct them to the market and storage.
Representatives of the farmers' organizations who joined this committee presented information on the need for fertilizer during cultivation, the need for correct technical advice and the damage caused to crops by wild animals.
MP Kanchana Walapitiya pointed out the need to provide practical solutions to the problems that arose today at the next committee meeting, and the Kegalle District Secretary said that steps should be taken to ensure good coordination between the officials of all institutions related to agriculture and the farmers.
Kegalle Additional District Secretary (Lands) Dilip Nishantha, District Agriculture Director N.M.A.U. Senaratne, Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Development Chaminda Padma Kumara, heads of institutions related to the agricultural sector, representatives of farmers' organizations and a group of others were present on this occasion.
