Ranil seeks Indian help to revive agriculture
September 7, 2010 07:19 am
The Leader of the Opposition in
“It will affect the food supply and also have an impact on cost of living,” Mr Wickremesinghe told The Hindu in Chennai.
Mr. Wickremesinghe, who had a detailed discussion with
agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan on these issues, said: “
The Vanni region, together with the
“Most of the people in the Vanni region earn their livelihood from these two sectors,” he said, pointing out how the fighting between the Army and the LTTE in the Vanni region during 2008 and 2009 had devastated both agriculture and fisheries.
“This is having an impact on the economy of
In his view, besides reviving agriculture and fisheries,
“The technical support necessary for this is available in
He said this could prove a pilot project for the modernisation of
agriculture and fisheries in other parts of
“I discussed these issues with Dr. Swaminathan, who has been
visiting
Dr. Swaminathan will visit
The former Prime Minister said he had already had a discussion with
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao when she visited
Mr. Wickremesinghe said political leaders in Tamil Nadu could
also help
In response to a specific question, he said de-mining was a real problem. “There should be an accelerated demining programme. But the government must be prepared to request help from many of the non-governmental agencies which have the capacity. When I was the Prime Minister, demining was started under the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), and a large number of non-governmental groups helped us. With the capacity available in the developed world, we were able to do demining successfully,” he recalled. However, the mines were laid by both sides during the subsequent fighting.
“Demining will enable the agriculture and fisheries development
to take place.
Asked whether he would be able to persuade President Mahinda
Rajapaksa to accept the proposals, he responded: “We could only make these
suggestions publicly,”