The Ministry of Supplementary Plantation Crops Development has formulated a plan to cultivate subsidiary food crops in Cashew plantations under its Inter-cropping food crops cultivation programme.

The Ministry expects to cultivate maize, banana, green gram, pine apple, black gram, gingelly, ground nuts and a variety of vegetables in 17,500 hectares allocated for the purpose, the Cashew Corporation said.

Cashew Corporation Chairman Priyanath M.Piyadasa told The Island Financial Review that cashew was a perennial crop and harvest could be reaped after three years. The Corporation had taken a decision to utilize the spaces available beneath cashew trees for the cultivation of inter-crops which would be able to meet the demand of different kinds of fruits and pulses.

He said that the Corporation had already selected ten cashew-growing districts to initiate the inter-cropping programme in Puttalam, Kurunegala, Moneragala, Hambantota, Matale, Mahiyangana and Batticaloa districts. The Corporation had decided to sell the harvest to the nearest markets and people would be able to purchase fresh vegetables, pulses and fruits at fair prices.

Supplementary Plantation Crops Development Minister Dhramadasa Banda said that the principal aim of introduction of inter-cropping programme would be to supply fresh food crops to people at moderate prices because the price escalations of such food crops had caused a number of economic burdens to people at this juncture.

Minister Banda added that inter-cropping was a long-felt necessity in Sri Lanka and had the successive governments initiated the programme Sri Lanka would have been self-sufficient in fruits, vegetables and pulses. Initially inter-cropping programme would commence in ten famous cashew-cultivation districts and the Corporation would expand the inter-cropping in the Eastern province in a large-scale.

Cashew Corporation Plantation Manager G.M.B.Surendra elaborated that at present the Corporation had cultivated cashew in 8,500 hectares and under its cashew cultivation expansion programme, cashew would be cultivated in 17,500 hectares within the next five years. The Corporation would utilize the services of agriculture scientists to successfully cultivate different inter-crops with cashew cultivation.

He said that the supplementary food crops development programme initiated on a concept of Minister Dhramadasa Banda would be expanded across the country as the government was convinced that the discontinuation of importation of supplementary food crops could be done when the country would be able to produce adequate supplementary food crops to meet the ever-growing demand.