Category: Agriculture
From Toronto to Toddy, a Jaffna Entrepreneur’s Journey
By Jekhan Aruliah When it comes to investment in the North there is far more talk than there is action. A rare example of action is Suganthan Shanmuganathan. Having fled the Sri Lankan Civil War 25 years ago as a teenage schoolboy, Suganthan came back to Jaffna from Canada in 2014 with his wife and […]
Feature story: Seeds for a brighter future
Feb 01, 2019 (LBO) – Rajnikansan Arushanandi’s son Brideman is in Grade 5 but he knows more about gardening than she does.“He has been learning at school and he comes home and tells us about organic fertilizer preparation, and how nutritional green leaves can be grown,” she says. Another mother, Sobana Muhundan sees her son Sibiraj […]
New website to provide early warning signals for paddy, vegetable producers
Jan 30, 2019 (LBO) – Socio-Economic and Planning Centre of the Department of Agriculture has launched a new website for Sri Lankan farmers, which aims to provide updated information in order to educate them to make productive decisions regarding their crops. This website is a useful information source for farmers, consumers, agricultural producers and food processing institutions […]
Plantation companies agree to increase basic wage of plantation workers to Rs700
Jan 25, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Plantation Companies and trade unions have agreed to increase the daily basic wage of plantation workers to 700 rupees with an additional 50 rupees under the Price Share Supplement (PSS). Further, 100 million rupees will also be allocated to the Plantation Companies out of the funds of Tea […]
” armyworm cannot be practically eradicated: UNFAO
Jan 24, 2019 (LBO) – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says that the Fall Armyworm (FAW) known as ‘Sena’ cannot be practically eradicated once established in a new area and it becomes one more pest that farmers need to learn about and manage.In the absence of natural control or good management, the FAW can […]
Jaffna to New York’s Wall Street and back to Jaffna
By Jekhan Aruliah Back in the day Raj Janan’s father was a successful industrialist in Jaffna, owning at various times an aluminium factory, a knitwear factory, a private hospital and a newspaper. Janan’s childhood was disrupted by the JVP insurrection in 1971 when he was 11 years old.One consequence of which was the family was […]
Sri Lanka tea sees good demand in November
Dec 22, 2016 (LBO) – Tea production for the month of November totaled 27.3M/kgs, a gain of 2M/kgs against 25.29M/kgs of November 2015, Forbes & Walker Tea Brokers said in a report. “There was good demand all around,” the report said. ‘Ex-Estate offerings totalled a 0.9M/kgs vis-à-vis 0.7M/kgs the previous week. Overall quality of Western’s […]
Finance Min releases Rs7 bn to farmers for Maha season
Dec 21, 2016 (LBO) – The Finance Ministry will release 7 billion rupees to paddy farmers as a fertilizer subsidy during the Maha cultivation season, the ministry said in a statement. “The Finance Ministry has released 5.5 billion rupees to the Agriculture Ministry to be distributed among the farmers to purchase fertilizer for the Maha […]
‘s agriculture exports
Dec 19, 2016 (LBO) – Reducing non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in Sri Lanka is a significant step towards realizing untapped export potential within agricultural sectors such as fruit, vegetables, seafood and floriculture, trade experts say. Reducing domestic NTBs is a relatively easy but significant step towards encouraging diversification, where high transaction costs have acute implications on […]
Sri Lanka tea up for third consecutive month in Nov
Dec 07, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea auction average for the month of November showed gains with prices up 168.82 rupees to 581.33 rupees against 412.51 rupees in the period last year. “It is also noteworthy that this is the highest ever average for a calendar month improving on the previous best achieved during the […]
Sri Lanka planters warn on land redistribution budget proposals
Nov 16, 2016 (LBO) – The Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) said it has serious reservations as to the feasibility and potential impact of recent budget proposals on Sri Lanka’s plantation industry, a statement said. Sri Lanka’s budget 2017 proposed for a reduction in the maximum acreage that can be held by any stand-alone plantation […]
Lanka Sugar Company turns loss into Rs1bn profit
Nov 15, 2016 (LBO) – Lanka Sugar Company, which includes Pelwatte and Sewanagala sugar factories, has recorded a profit of 1,018 million rupees for the first nine months of this year. The company which employs around 5,600 workers has made a significant turnaround this year after it suffered a loss of 1,030 million rupees last […]