Northern farmers get more facilities

Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said that the government has implemented more development projects in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, compared to other districts.

The Minister said that in the Jaffna peninsula 60 percent of the people are involved in agricultural activities, and hence the government is focusing more attention on the development of agriculture in the peninsula. He said that by improving agricultural activities in the peninsula, Sri Lanka can soon achieve self-sufficiency in many of the pulses and additional food crops that are being imported at present.

The Minister was speaking at a function held at the Agrarian Services office in Palai, Jaffna in connection with distribution of 165 two-wheel tractors and other agri equipments to the farmers. These tractors and equipment have been provided by the Japanese government. The Japanese Ambassador in Sri Lanka also attended the function

Meanwhile, the Jaffna district parliamentarian Murugesu Chandrakumar has said that the government is successfully implementing the requests of the people living in the Northern Province. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of a Cooperative Store and a storage complex in Kilali in the Jaffna district. The government has spent Rs. 20 million for construction of these buildings, to fulfill the facilities required by the people affected by the war. Parliamentarian Chandrakumar has also thanked President Mahinda Rajapaksa for taking a keen interest in providing facilities required by the people in the Northern Province.(niz)