The Agriculture and Agrarian Services Ministry with the assistance of the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines will introduce improved high-yielding rice varieties coupled with advanced production and protection technology. The Ministry is hopeful that the new rice varieties when harvested will be able to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in rice production, Agriculture and Agrarian Services Ministry said.

Agriculture and Agrarian Services Minister Hemakumara Nanayakkara told The Island that the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines was instrumental in breeding the new variety and the varieties would be introduced to paddy farmers shortly.

He pointed out that the potential yield of the new high yielding rice varieties under experimental conditions would range from 8 to 10 metric tons per hectare. However, the farmers would have to achieve this yield at field level and the national yield would remain 4.2 metric tons per hectare. A wide yield gap would also exist and it was necessary to bridge this gap early, said Minister Nanayakkara.

The present Rice Research and Development Institute at Bathalagoda was commissioned as a rice breeding station in 1952 and it had not been streamlined to the position as the premier rice research institute of the country. It had now been recognized internationally due to its excellence performance in rice breeding over past years. The institute had not only bred rice varieties adaptable to different agro-ecological regions of the country, but it had been successful in developing rice technologies appropriate for the enhancement of yield.

He added that the Rice Research and Development Institute at Bathalagoda would be used to overcome the constraints by training farmers, extension workers and researchers in technology dissemination. Sri Lanka was one step below than that of Indonesia which had national yield of 4.3 metric tons per hectare. The Government was confident that Sri Lanka could become the highest paddy producer per unit area in the Asian region in due course because the officers at the Rice Research and Development Institute are capable of achieving this milestone in brief period.

Minister Nanayakkara noted that the Agriculture Ministry had already initiated a programme to expand the existing areas of paddy cultivation to meet the local demand and the rice varieties tolerant to salinity had been identified for the Northern region while plans were also ahead to bring under the plough uncultivated rice lands in the North-Central Province.