Kurunegala Plantation wins Gold at National Agribusiness Awards 2014

Thursday, 28 August 2014 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sharmali Wickramasinghe receiving the National Gold Award of Farmer Awards from Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane and Hayleys Agriculture Managing Director Rizvi Zaheed as NAC Chairman-Elect Rohitha Nanayakkara looks on

State-owned Kurunegala Plantations Ltd. won the National Gold Award at the Annual Agribusiness & Farmer Awards ceremony, organised by the National Agribusiness Council. The plantation company won the award for excellence achieved during 2013 in the agricultural sector. The Silver award went to Lucky Lanka Milk Processing PLC for the contribution it made in terms of innovation, research and development and market expansion and also its CSR projects and HJS Condiments Ltd. won the Bronze award for its remarkable growth along with contributions made to earn foreign exchange reserves to the country. The three firms along several other companies were recognised during the annual Agribusiness & Farmer Awards ceremony held for the ninth consecutive year by the National Agri-Business Council. The Ag-Biz Trade fair also was held along with the awards ceremony. The Best Farmer Award went to Sharmali Wickramasinghe of Nuwara Eliya, while T. Aruna Ranasinghe of Kalutara District became the 1st Runner Up and Arjuna Anuradha Wanigarathne hailing from Colombo District became the 2nd Runner Up. The Chief Guest at the event was Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana while Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Dr. D.B.T. Wijeratne and several distinguished invitees graced the occasion. The welcome address was delivered by Rohitha Nanayakkara, Chairman-Elect, NAC. The National Agribusiness Awards are held annually in order to recognise the performance and contributions made by the formal agribusiness sector towards the development of agriculture in Sri Lanka. The awards are given based on the sector, while it is also divided into Small, Medium and Large Categories. The competition also recognises outstanding input suppliers, service providers, producers, processors, and marketers. The selections were made by a competent panel of judges based on business overview, financial management, human resource management, social impact and sector specific performance.

Kurunegala Plantations CEO S.K. Nillegoda receiving the National Gold Award from Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane. NAC Chairman Aruna Weerakoon and NAC Chairman-Elect are also present Nanayakkara looks on

Lucky Lanka Milk Processing Co. Managing Director Lal Keerthi Gunawardhana receiving the National Silver Award from Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena