Army’s agriculture, afforestation, farming and livestock projects bear fruit 

The Directorate of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) of the Army, well-geared towards the successful implementation of the Army Chief’s ‘Thuru Mithuru Nawaratak’ green drive that goes hand in hand with the Presidential policy, ‘Saubhagye Dekma’ government framework with its troops, is currently engaged in a multitude of country-wide agro-livestock projects of different magnitude and kinds across the country as per guidelines given by Chief of Defence Staff and Army Commander General Shavendra Silva under the close supervision of DAL Director Brigadier Arosh Rajapakse.

Comprised of professionally qualified 76 officers and 1,675 of other ranks, the Corps of Agriculture and Livestock in the Army (comprising one regular battalion and three volunteer battalions), under the DAL, by early August, has spread its wings to 8,500 acres of State and Army land for the cultivation of paddy, mango, coconut, vegetables, sesame seeds, corn, urad dal (ulundu), turmeric, etc. 

Troops of the Sri Lanka Army Corps of Agriculture and Livestock, formally raised on 7 January 2020, currently grow chillies in 200 acres in the Andipuliyankulam (50), Kandakadu (100) Army farms and Manik Farm (50), coconuts in 300 acres in Manik Farm, Andiyapulyankulam, Kandakadu, Ballala and Palatupana, Yala (19,500 saplings), mangoes in 500 acres (19, 800 saplings), turmeric in nearly 20 acres inside Army farms, hybrid wheat seeds in Manik Farm (25 acres), and sesame seeds in Manik Farm (50 acres). 

The Department of Agriculture and Export Development Board, at the invitation of the DAL, continuously extends its expertise, scientific and other consultations to Army troops working on those farms around the country.

In the meantime, those troops with the objective of producing rice for their own domestic consumption are now busy cultivating paddy for all seasons at the Kandakadu Farm, Manik Farm and Sri Jayawardenepura area around the Army HQ. 

In some of them, the harvest has already been reaped and made available for the troops to buy those varieties of rice from the Army Seva Vanitha Unit-run welfare shops. Best quality rice varieties are grown in those fields, absent of chemicals or pesticides.

Likewise, poultry farming, one of the large livestock projects of the DAL, has now expanded and more than 25,000 layer chickens in the Army-managed farms in Kandakadu, Galkanda, Nirawiya and Balalla are there to fulfil the egg requirements of the Army. The layer chicken project started in mid-2020, with 5,000 layer chickens as a pilot move and has proved to be a very productive project.

The DAL’s Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) ration packet production process at Kandakadu Army Farm complex meanwhile reached new heights as its daily output has now increased to 1,000 packs a day, thereby cutting down a huge sum of foreign exchange to the country by way of import costs. The MRE packs, made up of textured and dehydrated nutrients, are generally used by troops under training in jungles or those serving in distant remote areas. 

Dairy products, such as milk packets and curd pots, are also produced at Kandakadu and are regularly distributed among all Army Seva Vanitha shops for consumption of troops, which have gained popularity among consumers.

In the same manner, the Army farm at Palatupana, Yala, which commenced manufacture of iodine-mixed quality cooking salt, has already received the SLS certification, and those packets are delivered to the Sri Lanka Army Service Corps for distribution among Army camps, and stock is currently sold at minimal price to the members of the Army as one more subsidised item. 

Similarly, afforestation roles of the Army in parallel with the Army Commander-initiated ‘Thurumithu Nawa Ratak’ green drive have so far proved effective and contributed to the national tree-planting campaigns all over the country, including the Wilpattu Forest Reserve region. It has made an impact in the East, North and North Central provinces where the rainfall is comparatively less.

Agroforestry roles of the Army also cover cultivation of different and rare herbal medicine saplings and gliricidia plants, which is needed for regeneration of nitrogen in the soil, and is now widely used in the carbonic compost fertiliser production process in the Army, the latest addition to the nation-building projects of the Government on a Presidential directive. 

The Army has initiated the process for the production of 2,500 metric tons of organic fertiliser inside island-wide Army camps for use in the Maha Season 2021, and samples of fertiliser thus produced were recently handed over to the Department of Agriculture to ascertain the quality.

The beekeeping projects for the production of bee honey have also yielded impressive results, and are being expanded to other areas where climatic conditions are desirable for beekeeping schemes. The DAL has also planned to begin cultivation of about 35,000 murunga, wood-apple, lemon, and tamarind saplings inside Army-managed farms and camp compounds in the forthcoming Maha Season. 

The DAL, with sustained guidelines given by General Shavendra Silva, who expects the Army to have its own products made or cultivated as much as possible for self-consumption, minimising the costs for imports, etc., conducts regular long-term and short-term courses for troops on relevant updated aspects and modern techniques required to go ahead with these impressive projects in a result-oriented manner under the close supervision of Brigadier Arosha Rajapakse, along with its dedicated troops.