Sri Lanka’s Avant Garde Maritime Services diversifies in to agriculture sector
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Agriculture has reportedly agreed to provide 5,000 acres of state land to Avant Agro (Pvt) Ltd., a subsidiary of Avant-Garde Maritime Services (Pvt) Ltd, to cultivate maize as a pilot project.
“A proposal was submitted by Avant-Garde Maritime Services to the Prime Minister to rehabilitate drug addicts and prisoners by allowing them to develop skills for better social integration and employability, and accordingly an agreement was reached between the Ministry of Agriculture and Avant Agro (Pvt) Ltd,” the statement has stated.
“Although 40,000 acres were required for the project, the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Sumedha Perera, had only approved the allocation of 5,000 acres as a pilot project,” the statement has further noted.
Currently the government has imposed restrictions on maize importation. As a result, there is a shortfall of 200,000 metric tons of maize per annum. Maize is a key ingredient in poultry feed.
The Ministry has said that in addition to filling the short falloff Maize this project will have a number of other social and economic benefits which includes foreign exchange savings and contribution to the prisoner rehabilitation process, the Daily News has stated.
OSL take:
Many Sri Lankan private sector companies are diversifying in to other economic sectors in a bid to expand their business portfolios. It is also indicative of the growth and strength of the country’s private sector. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean, ease of doing business environment and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have made it a business hub in the South Asian region. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore confidently explore opportunities in Sri Lanka and form partnership/joint ventures with local companies.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/10122020/Z_2 |