Sri Lankan Government to boost foreign income from exporting Moringa leaves to the foreign market

 

One hundred farming families in the Wellawaya Divisional Secretariat successfully harvest Moringa (drumstick) leaves in Athiliwewa and Siripuragama districts. The farmers in the area who grow drumsticks claim they can easily earn about 60,000 rs a month. Moringa trees leaves are harvested and shipped into foreign countries. Farmers who grow these trees say Sri Lankan drumstick leaves are in high demand on the foreign market. Farmers now earn a high income because of the market value of drumstick leaves of Rs—45-47 per kilo.

The project launched under the Ministry of Agriculture has already taken actions to provide the farming community with the requisite technical know-how and agricultural equipment free of charge. No disease affects the Moringa trees, and they grow in the dry region, according to the agriculture officials.

The farmers are thus able to conduct this cultivation very quickly and will take steps in the future to popularise this cultivation in the district, they said. State Agriculture Minister Sashindra Rajapaksa visited the plantations yesterday afternoon to inspect the farms and inquire into the necessary state intervention.

Speaking to the media, Sashinda Rajapaksa said it would provide all appropriate state support for these cultivations. He further said the state would take all possible measures for the good of the farmers and take steps to improve the peoples economy by bringing in foreign exchange in the future by growing this form of crops

Interested foreign businesses could look at introducing the latest technologies and trends in the global agriculture industry to Sri Lanka and also look at forming joint ventures with local companies to produce agricultural goods for export markets as well.

OSL Take: Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector-driven towards growth following setbacks suffered due to changing weather patterns. Also, the agriculture sector is engaged in improving the yields of key crops, especially paddy, which remains the main livelihood of the rural Sri Lankan community.

The change to upgrade the country’s agriculture sector by introducing the newest technologies with assistance from India and China would enhance Sri Lanka’s agriculture exports. Sri Lanka already has trade accords with several countries and trade privileges from the EU and the US, which would benefit any business involved in exporting goods from Sri Lanka. Therefore, Sri Lanka offers an excellent base for foreign companies interested in exporting goods from Sri Lanka to overseas markets.

The support prolonged by multilateral donor agencies to uplift Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector and the Sri Lankan government’s commitment to developing the industry are encouraging signs for foreign businesses/investors to discover business/investment opportunities in the island’s farming sector. Foreign businesses could also examine the possibility of engaging in the farming export sector, given the many trade agreements and trade privileges enjoyed by Sri Lanka with foreign countries.

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