Rs. 1,600 Mn allocated for 160 Youth Agri-Entrepreneurship Villages

The Agriculture and Plantation Industries Ministry has taken steps to allocate Rs.1,600 million to establish 160 villages in 25 districts with six youth Agri-Entrepreneurship Villages in each district for this year.

Accordingly, the programme to establish 160 youth Agri-Entrepreneurship Villages covering all 25 districts is being implemented and arrangements have been made to provide Rs. one million to each village under the first phase, said Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.

The aim of this programme is to attract the youth community to agriculture and to introduce them to new agricultural technology, to carry out activities targeting local markets and exports, and to direct the youth community to agricultural products that are in demand.

A discussion was held regarding the Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurship Village Programme at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agricultural Research and Training Institute on Thursday (16). The discussion was chaired by Minister Amaraweera, and the Agriculture Ministry officials as well as the provincial agriculture officials and the officials of the institutions affiliated to the Ministry participated.

The Cabinet approval has been received for this programme. Accordingly, an amount of Rs.1,600 million has been allocated to be given to Youth Agri-Entrepreneurship Villages.

Projects for vegetables, fruits, other crops, plantation crops, industries related to fish products, cultivation in sheltered houses, livestock related products etc. are to be implemented in these villages.

The Minister emphasised that there is a situation where the youth community is moving away from farming in our country.

“In order to attract the youth community to agriculture, they need to establish their confidence in it. I informed the Cabinet in this regard. I presented the project report specifically on the Youth Agri-Entrepreneurship Village Programme. The Government has given a good response in this regard”.

Therefore, implementation of this programme should receive the support of everyone, the Minister said.

State Ministers D. B. Herat, Mohan Priyadarshana Silva and Ministry Secretary Janaka Dharmakeerthy were also present.

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