Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2013-04-04

Promotion of Soya Bean Cultivation to Meet the Requirement Locally

- at present the annual import of soya products in the form of soya punnac, soya oil, soya flour is around 175,000 tons which require foreign exchange in a sum of Rs.14,000 million. It has been found that this crop can be cultivated in Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Puttalam, Kurunegala, Hambantota, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts as a short term crop. On the proposal made by Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Minister of Agriculture to enhance the cultivation of soya bean in the country, Cabinet approval was granted to provide soya bean seeds at a concessionary price for cultivation purposes, to small scale farmers engaged in soya bean cultivation.