Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2019-08-06

Preventing the division of the large scale farms prepared for shrimp farming into small lots

- A trend prevails to establish several small farms out of the large scale farms prepared for shrimp farming following the termination of their lease period. This is a severe threat in maintaining basic management requirements for the industry. With a view to preventing this trend, the proposal made by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock Development, Irrigation and Fisheries & Aquatic Resources Development, to prevent division of the farms into small lots, where presently shrimp farming is being carried out and former shrimp farms which have exceeded the lease period in the Puttlam district, to allocate per farmer to have at least a minimum of 4 acres of land when dividing large farms which have abandoned the shrimp farming or farms which have terminated the lease period and to include a condition stating that it is compulsory to obtain the recommendation of the National Aquaculture Development Authority when constructing ponds in those lands and also to take steps not to utilize large farms used for shrimp farming for any other activities other than aquaculture, was approved by the Cabinet.