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Sri Lanka is estimated to lose 270,000 metric tons of fruits and vegetables every year
An estimated 270,000 metric tons of vegetables and fruits are wasted annually, causing a loss to the Sri Lankan economy of approximately Rs. 20 billion, it was disclosed at a meeting of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) this week.
An audit conducted by the National Audit Office in 2015 had estimated the extent of the post-harvest damage to vegetables and fruits in Sri Lanka at 30%-40%.
The report also revealed that about 73% of the adult population of the country does not consume an adequate amounts of vegetables and fruits and that the malnutrition level of children under the age of five is also approximately around 21%.
COPA Chairman Prof. Tissa Vitharana noted that Sri Lanka did not have a standard agricultural policy that covered the whole scope pertaining to the agricultural sector.
The domestic agricultural policy formulated in 2019 is currently at the draft level and the need for an agricultural policy targeting the local and foreign markets was highlighted at the Committee meeting.
Another important area of focus of the Committee members was to establish an expeditious mechanism to prevent the unlimited profits made by middlemen causing a problem for both the local farmer and the consumer, minimising post-harvest damage to vegetables and fruits in the country and the sale of agricultural products at reasonable prices.
COPA Committee members pointed out that due to the lack of an extensive cultivation plan covering the island to meet the food demand of Sri Lankans, farmers had resorted to cultivating to their liking, thus resulting in over-harvesting of certain crops.
Though the Department of Agriculture is conducting a crop forecasting program every fortnight with a pre-announcement pertaining to the suitable vegetables to be cultivated for the next two weeks at present, it was noted that there was an inadequacy of the measures to resolve the said issue.
The COPA Committee instructed the officials present before the committee to pay further attention towards resolving the matter.
The Committee also paid attention towards obtaining the contribution of the District/Regional Agriculture Committees for this purpose, increasing the participation of agricultural officers engaged in the field of giving basic advice on cultivation plans related to vegetable and fruit cultivation, and providing adequate training to a sufficient number of agricultural instructors, agricultural research and production assistants who are directly involved with farmers and farmers.
Additional steps include minimising the damage caused by the use of plastic crates during harvesting and transportation, the use of dehydration methods to reduce food waste, and formulating a proper mechanism to resolve the difference between wholesale prices in economic centres and retail prices in the surrounding area due to transportation costs as well as the large number of intermediaries.
State Ministers Duminda Dissanayake, Dayasiri Jayasekara, (Dr.) Sudarshini Fernandopulle and Lasantha Alagiyawanna, MPS and officials from the agriculture sector were present at the meeting.
