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Oct 29, Colombo: Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries Mahinda Amaraweera has assigned the Seed and Planting Material Development Centre (SPMDC ) of the Department of Agriculture to produce 20 million tea plants per year.
The country’s tea industry annually requires 20 million tea saplings for new planting and replanting in the tea plantations. Lack of high quality tea plants has a severe impact on the yield of tea plantations and also increases the nematode or roundworm disease in tea plantations.
Due to these concerns, it was decided yesterday (28) that the Seed and Planting Material Development Centre (SPMDC) of the Department of Agriculture should produce high quality tea saplings.
A discussion in this regard was held yesterday at the Gannoruwa Service Training Center under the chairmanship of the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera. A group of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture and the Smallholder Tea Development Authority participated in the discussion.
Currently, the amount of tea plants required annually for the needs of the Smallholder Tea Development Authority is 20 million. Although many tea growers get tea plants from nurseries, it has been revealed that the harvest of tea plants obtained from those nurseries is seriously affected by roundworm disease.
Licenses of 20 nurseries have been revoked for not providing quality tea plants. Also, arrangements have been made to start 200 more tea plantation nurseries by providing subsidies of 490 million rupees.
Therefore, the officials of the Smallholder Tea Development Authority have requested the Minister of Agriculture to provide the support of the Department of Agriculture for the production of high quality tea plants.
Taking these facts into consideration, steps were taken yesterday to transfer the responsibility for the production of 20 million tea plants annually to the Department of Agriculture.
The Smallholder Tea Development Authority will provide the financial allocation required for the project to the Department of Agriculture.
Source: www.colombopage.com/archive_23B/Oct29_1698604099CH.php
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