The Board of Coconut Cultivation has taken steps to prepare a program for the expansion of king coconut cultivation in our country.
Accordingly, 86 villages have been selected suitable for king coconut cultivation in the island and it is special that these villages have been selected after examining the reasons for king coconut production.
A huge demand for king coconut in our country has been created in the international market and Sri Lanka has the monopoly on king coconut in the international market. The reason for this is that the taste and quality of king coconut in our country is very high.
Also, although many countries have tried to grow king coconut, they have not been able to get the quality of king coconut in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the demand for king coconut in our country is increasing daily.
A discussion on popularizing king coconut cultivation as a crop was held yesterday (05) under the patronage of the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera. Officers of Coconut Cultivation Board and Coconut Development Authority as well as Coconut Research Institute also participated in the event.
Accordingly, 86 villages of the island were selected and it was decided to plant 45,000 king coconut plants in those villages. The minister advised that if someone wants to grow more acres of king coconut in one village even though they are selected as villages, then steps should be taken to provide the necessary facilities for that.
Under this, king coconut seedlings and technical knowledge as well as advice will be provided free of charge.
Thus Monaragala 03 villages, 01village in Matara, 08 villages in Kurunegala, 09 in Kuliapitiya, 08 in Kegalle, 09 in Gampaha, 10 in Kalutara, 09 in Maravila, 04 in Ratnapura, 08 in Hambantota, 02 in Anuradhapura, 02 in Trincomalee, 02 in Polonnaruwa, 02 in Ampara, 04 in Matale, 08 in Galle , 02 in Batticaloa, 03 in Jaffna, 04 in Kandy and 86 villages have been selected.
The Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industry, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera, who expressed his opinion, said that the demand for king coconut in our country has also increased due to the dry weather these days and the prices have also increased.
But by achieving export and starting these crops, the farmers can get more income and are also advised to carry out new technical research to introduce king coconut juice in the market as a value added product.
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