Sri Lankan government looking at increasing productivity in plantation sector
The government of Sri Lanka is reportedly encouraging re-planting and soil conservation in the plantation sector in a bid to increasing productivity on the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs).
The government also expects to link this to the revenue sharing model in order to make them greener.
“We are trying to develop some productivity improvements like encouraging re-planting and soil conservation,” Plantations Ministry Secretary J.A. Ranjith has told the Business Times.
He has said that the government want to focus on these because the state cannot increase the extent of land but productivity on the plantations could be improved.
Ranjith has explained that today the RPCs were producing about 300-400 kg per month and the plan is to increase this up to 600 kg per month in future.
Moreover, he has pointed out that RPCs were in need of financial assistance but no donors were ready to support due to the shortage of labour as a result of which cost of production has increased and most investors were not ready to cash in on the plantations.
According to reports, in order to do this the state would be compelled to provide some form of assistance and through the Plantation Management Institute the government is training the plantation management and other officials on how to increase efficiency in their cultivation and establish good practices on the plantations.
The government is reportedly looking at motivating the younger generation to participate in the cultivation sector and also look to encourage the plantations to adopt mechanization as a solution to the labour shortage.
The main reason for the delay in adopting mechanization was due to the high cost incurred and due to the geographical setting, Ranjith has explained.
In addition he has pointed out that the government was looking at increasing the forest cover on the RPCs, which had been discussed with the RPCs and which were monitored.
OSL take:
The move by the Sri Lankan government to focus on increasing the productivity of regional plantation corporations (RPCs) would provide several investment opportunities. One model would be for interested investors to go in for partnerships with RPCs to restructure them and convert them into profitable ventures along with the state assistance. The other investment mode would be to formulate a mechanism by a business entity that could be used by the RPCs in general and conduct it as part of the government’s project to uplift RPCs.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/18102017/Z_3 |