Chairman’s Message

It gives me a great pleasure to take part of an innovative Agro-Food industry in Sri Lanka ensuring food sovereignty and national prosperity through multi-sectorial approach toward achieving of sustainable development goals.

Considering the importance of transition from chemical farming to organic farming, in 2020 government issued a blanket order to ban all imports of agrochemicals. However, the government failed to increase domestic production of organic pesticides and fertilizers, or provide farmers with subsidies to buy these products. The sudden policy shift wrecked crop yields. Rice, Sri Lanka’s dietary staple that it used to produce adequately and even exported; saw average yields slashed by some 30%. For the first time in decades, Sri Lanka had to import rice. The production of tea, the country’s prime export, fell by 18%, crimping its foreign exchange earnings.

However, with the appointing of Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera as the Minister of Agriculture actions has been taken to import chemical fertilizer back at the limited level realizing that these kinds of transition cannot be done in one night. With the abundance of organic and chemical fertilizer as well agro chemicals the yield will be increased rocket high paving the way for declination of price sharply for farmer’s harvest. At this point, NFPB assure farmers by purchasing their harvest at a reasonable price and distributing to our sales points as well franchises centers that providing opportunity for customers to purchase high quality harvest at a completive price. Even at this stage NFPB assist food producers to distribute their products through NFPB “Agro-Fresh” and “ Govi-Sewana” outlets network will be extended island-wide in near future in collaboration with Spices and Allied Product Development Board and Commercial Fertilizer company that customer can be enjoyed with fresh foods, groceries, value- added foods, dairy and meat items, grains, agricultural inputs including plant materials, fertilizers, chemicals, equipment etc. that can be purchased with concession price at an one roof.

Also, measures has been taken to export value-added food and spices that produce in NFPB premises to export market as NFPB has been requested to establish its own selling points in foreign countries. A foreign company has engaged with NFPB to produce dhal as a pilot project in Hambantota and Puttalama districts as there is a favorable climate conditions are prevailed in these districts. This will be a promising experience for Sri Lanka and this effort will be an assurance for foreign exchange deficit.

NFPB has signed an agreement with the Paddy Marketing Board to mill paddy in our rice processing Center Kalankuttiya in Anuradhapura district to make abundance of rice in the market that may help to control the market price. Some of rice is being used to produce value added flour production under private public partnership program.

Thus, with acceleration of our various activities with providing benefits for both producers and customers ensuring financial stability of the board I' m confident enough to reach the climax with dignity in near future for the prosperity of the nation.