PM urges FAO to support introduction of new tech to rural agriculture

The Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday sought support from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director General Dr. Qu Dongyu to introduce new tech to rural agriculture in Sri Lanka.

This was conveyed when Dr. Dongyu who is in Sri Lanka to attend the 37th session of the FAO regional conference for Asia and the Pacific in Colombo, called on the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister, whilst thanking the FAO for the assistance provided to agriculture and the rural economic development over the years, urged the FAO to consider further assistance to plans for introducing new technology for agricultural and fisheries sectors.

He made a special mention about setting up water pumps with solar panels for energy generation for rural farming. FAO Director General said such projects have been introduced in Africa and FAO would consider such a project in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Qu Dongyu praised Lanka’s climate sustainability and said: “This Island can be described as the crystal-clear water drop of the Indian Ocean.”  

He praised the economic recovery process after the unprecedented crisis in the recent past, and expressed confidence that Sri Lanka would regain its position as a middle-income country in a short time.

Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake and Media Advisor Sugeeswara Senadhira, senior FAO officials, including Director Godfrey Magwenzi, Beth Crawford, Wimalendra Sharan, Maximo Torero and Angelica Jacome were also present at the discussion.