Sri Lanka to cooperate with Bangladesh to increase seed production

Friday, 9 June 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Department of Agriculture will cooperate with a Bangladesh seed company to implement a joint project to increase the vegetable seed production in the country.

Although several institutions in the country are producing vegetable seeds a large portion of the requirement is imported, the Department says.

The joint project with the Lal Teer Seed Limited of Bangladesh is planned to be implemented as a solution in the premises of Field Crops Research and Development Institute (FCRDI) in Mahailluppallama.

Lal Teer Seed Ltd., is the first Research-based and the largest seed company in private sector of Bangladesh.

The funds for the project are provided by the FCRDI while the Department of Agriculture will provide the land.

Accordingly, the cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal put forward by Minister of Agriculture Duminda Dissanayake to sign and authorize the Director General of Agriculture to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bangladesh company and to implement the proposed project.

The cabinet of ministers has also approved a proposal made by Minister Duminda Dissanayake to improve the Seed Conservation Unit of the Plant Genetic Resources Centre, in Gannoruwa.

The Plant Genetic Resources Centre in Gannoruwa was established in 1989 with Japanese aid and currently it conserves about 14500 seed samples.

The center comprising a Conservation Unit with 16 rooms, provides conserved seeds for researchers and for farmers who are engaged in traditional agriculture.

The cabinet granted approval for the Minister to obtain allocations for improvement of the technology of its cooling system to suit the current technology.