Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2016-02-03

Implementation of the Food Production National Programme (2016 - 2018)

- In accordance with the observations made at the meeting chaired by H.E. the President, held with the representatives of the private sector who engaged in business activities related to agriculture and food production sector, in order to successfully implement the Food Production National Programme, the proposal made by Hon. Duminda Dissanayake, the Minister of Agriculture, to implement the proposals of making mandatory the obtaining of clearance from the Department of Agriculture when importing any crop being promoted for cultivation under this programme, by an importer, to Sri Lanka as a consumer item, prior to ordering such items; if the said crops are imported at the instances where the local production is inadequate, the provision of opportunities to the private companies as well as the institutions who engaged in promotion of crop cultivation under the above National Programme, to import such crops as consumer items; in order to ensure that the each food product so imported as consumer items possesses health safeness and high standard, introduction of a new methodology to examine the quality of such goods, was approved by the Cabinet.