UPFA wants more focus on agri

Backs promoting import substitution crops, wants better revenue collection

By Ashwin Hemmathagama – Our Lobby Correspondent

United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) lawmaker Mahinda Amaraweera moved the second day of the Budget debate commending the Government for some of the proposals but called for stronger agricultural policies, including a better paddy purchasing scheme. 

Amaraweera said the Government should support more import substitution agriculture as this would provide jobs and save foreign exchange. “In 2017, Sri Lanka imported fruits over 60,000 metric tons. That includes grapes worth Rs. 2,766 million and Rs. 958 million worth of oranges. We have spent Rs. 1, 315 million to import ginger and turmeric. Rs. 11, 000 million has been spent to import dry chilies and Rs. 76,000 million to import corn. All these can be grown in Sri Lanka. We started a program to cultivate Sri Lanka and the current Minister is capable of taking it forward,” he said.

Commending the Government’s plan to minimise post-harvest losses, MP Amaraweera held that is also essential to provide a better purchase scheme for paddy cultivators. “Due to good weather and the efforts put in by the Government, the paddy yield has increased this time. But the Budget has failed to provide a better paddy purchase scheme. On the other hand, the fisher folk should be further strengthened with more benefits from the Budget 2019. I know the fisher folk are disappointed in the absence of adequate support from this Budget. The Budget has proposed freezers to minimise post-harvest damages, which is a good move,” he said.

Deviating from the traditional role played by the Opposition lawmaker to criticise the Government in every move they make, MP Amaraweera held that political parties should put country forward rather thinking about strategies to grab power during the next election.

“Currently the per capita debt stands at Rs. 417,000/-. The per capita debt was reported Rs. 109,808/- in 2005. This is not a good situation, but we need not blame any Government for this increased debt burden. We shouldn’t have imported things that could been easily manufactured or grown in Sri Lanka. Your Enterprise Sri Lanka is not a bad program. It is a program that needs to select good producers and manufactures. It is also a good move that you have allocated money to provide sanitary facilities for those who don’t have any. But the issue we have here is finding money for these things. Although the allocations are made, money is not being received to spend. We need to manage the Sri Lanka Customs, Department of Inland Revenue and the Department of Excise to receive money,” he said.

Value addition for agriculture missing from Budget: SLFP