Sri Lanka aims to become self-sufficient in strawberry production
The Morning: With the first model village for strawberry cultivation established in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka anticipates to become strawberry self-sufficient particularly in the tourism industry and to export the surplus produce, The Daily Morning Business learnt.
Speaking to The Daily Morning Business, Agriculture Ministry Media Secretary Dharma Wanninayake said: “The project’s main goals are to export the surplus strawberries produced and meet the country’s need for strawberries while giving farmers new avenues for income and employment. As a result, the first model village for the strawberry growing initiative has received Rs. 20 million from the Department of Agrarian Development. Moreover, there are no collaborations with private sector companies or international organisations,”
He pointed out that there are many locals and foreigners who love to taste the Sri Lankan strawberries. In addition, the hotels require strawberries. Consequently, if the country has an abundance of strawberries, there is no need to import them.
Moreover, out of the locals, the Agriculture Ministry has chosen 50 farmers and four villages for the strawberry cultivation project in Nuwara Eliya. Additionally, the strawberry seedlings for the cultivation have been brought down from Australia. Currently, the cultivation is carried out in 42 net houses.
Further, they hope to work with more farmers on the model village project featuring strawberries. As a result, individuals might start their own strawberry plantation by learning the methods and cutting-edge technologies utilised in strawberry growing. This will result in increased growing of strawberries throughout the country and massive yields, Wanninayake added.
According to the Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera, growing strawberries using modern technologies is going to improve yields and earn approximately $ 117,600 from a single acre per year. One hectare can produce up to 120,000 kg of output. A hectare of land requires 250 million rupees to cultivate. It is estimated.
Even Though, there is a huge demand for strawberries in the World, since modern growth techniques are not available, there is little demand for strawberries grown locally. Sri Lanka is the 57th-ranked country in the world that exports strawberries. Every year, the strawberry business expands quickly, and strawberries are a well-liked soft fruit, he added.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s agriculture industry has seen an expansion in the past few years due to the ongoing economic activities and the increasing demand as a result. The expanding industry has resulted in the growth of business/investment opportunities in food crop cultivation and export crop cultivation. All these have resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in multiple sectors in the agriculture industry. With Sri Lanka on the path to becoming a regional hub, the demand for food crop and export crop cultivation would see a two fold increase in the coming years. Given the growth and business potential in Sri Lanka’s agriculture industry, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the growing opportunities in the industry while also looking at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses engaged in the industry for further expansion.