25th January 2022 22:36:07 Hours
A team of officials responsible for coordination of organic fertlizer production in the Jaffna peninsula on Tuesday (18) undertook a field visit to the Regional Agriculture Research Development Center in Killinochchi with the intention of receiving technical knowledge and ground-level experience of the process of organic fertilizer-making for Green Agriculture projects.
Major General Sujeewa Senarath Yapa, Commander, Security Forces Jaffna and responsible senior officers participated in the visit.
In the meantime, a special Coordinating Conference on the same subject was held at the 24 Division premises in Ampara on Monday (10) under the guidance of the Commander of the Security Forces Headquarters -East.
Accordingly, several issues related to the production of Organic Fertilizer and ongoing Green Agriculture Process were deeply discussed during the meeting session. Eventually it became a platform for all the stakeholders to discuss and find solutions for their burning issues. Also Staff Officers of the 24 Division and several other Agrarian and Agriculture Officers participated in this Coordinating Conference.
Moreover, under the guidance given by the General Officer Commanding of the 64 Division, Major General Upul Weerakoone and under the close supervision of the Brigade Commander of the 643 Brigade, a special workshop on Green Agriculture and the usage of Organic Fertilizer commenced at the Agricultural Training Center in Mullaittivu on 30th December 2021.
This particular event got underway with the participation of the General Officer Commanding of the 64 Division, Major General Upul Weerakoone, the Agricultural Director of Mullaittivu District, Mr Kokuladasan and the Manager of the Agricultural Training Center Farm in Oddusuddan in Mullaittivu District.
Similarly, a conference on the production and distribution of organic fertilizer to be in line with the Green Agriculture project was held on 19th January 2022 at 5 (V) Gajaba Regiment Battalion Headquarters of the 623 Brigade of the 62 Division.
The discussion, attended by agrarian officials and representatives of farming communities focused on the challenges, production process, availability of raw materials, selected places, etc.
General Officer Commanding, 62 Division, Major General Upali Gunasekara, Commander, 623 Brigade, Brigadier Rohan Medagoda and Commander, 622 Brigade, Brigadier Anura Abeysinghe and several officers took part in the meeting.
Likewise, one more discussion on the organic fertilizer production process and its coordination took place at the Kilinochchi Agrarian Development office on Friday (21).
On the guidelines given by Major General Sanjaya Wanasinghe, Commander, Security Forces - Mullaittivu, Major General Lasantha Rodrigo, General Officer Commanding, 66 Division attended the discussion together with other stakeholders.
Mr Dewarandan, Deputy Commissioner of Agrarian Development Office, Kilinochchi, Mrs. Jagadishwari, Deputy Director Agriculture in Northern province, Brigadier Suminda Dayawansha, Commander, 662 Brigade and Senior Officers of 66 Division Staff members of Kilinochchi Agrarian Office and farming community representatives participated in the meeting.
In the meantime, the Kandy District Secretariat in close coordination with the District Coordinator for Kandy on Green Agriculture, Major General Kalpa Sanjeewa, General Officer Commanding 11 Division conducted a conference on Monday (25), chaired by Mr. Chandana Thennakoon, District Secretary.
Brigadier Rohith Rathnayaka Commander 111 Brigade, together with respective Brigade Commanders of the 11 Division participated in the conference. Major General Kalpa Sanjeewa, General Officer Commanding 11 Division explained the purpose of the Green Agriculture Operation Center for coordination of all related processes on Green Agriculture concept and elaborated on efforts, taken by the Sri Lanka Army to the success of the Green Agriculture concept.
All the participants discussed and reviewed the current progress of production of organic fertilizer in Kandy district and remedies for the issues, regarding the implementation of the Green Agriculture concept in the Kandy District.
In the meantime, the Hambantota District coordinating conference on 'Green Agriculture' was held at Hambantota District Secretariat on 24 January.
District Secretary for Hambantota, General Officer Commanding 12 Division, 122 Brigade Commander and a few other government officials related to agriculture field took part in the review meeting.
Discussions centred on compost fertilizer, its production, quality checks, and coordination of the Army and its support for implementation.
Likewise, the Security Force HQ - Jaffna (SFHQ-J) in close collaboration with relevant state agencies launched a four-day workshop on 'Green Agriculture' at Thirunelveli Agriculture Training Centre, Jaffna on Monday (24).
Commander Security Forces - Jaffna Major General Sujeewa Senarath Yapa as the Chief Coordinator for 'Green Agriculture' participated in the inauguration as the Chief Guest and spelt out the objectives and Army’s role in Green Agriculture Development Project.
Director Agriculture, Jaffna Mrs Kayleshvaran, Assistant Commissioner, Agrarian Service Mr Nishanthan, Deputy Director, Northern Province, Mrs Sri Ranjana and Senior Military Officers joined the workshop. 16 Agriculture Instructors, 12 Agriculture Research and Production Assistants and 37Army personnel participated in the first day of the workshop and they will focus on all areas to make the workshop a success.
The workshop will terminate on 29 January 2022. The workshop was organized jointly by the Jaffna District Green Agriculture Coordinator and the General Officer Commanding 51 Division, Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe together with the support of Department of Agriculture and Department of Agrarian Services.
Likewise, one more coordination conference on the same subject got underway at the 58 Division Headquarters auditorium in Puttalam on 27 January, headed by Major General Rohitha Aluvihare, General Officer Commanding 58 Division and District Coordinating Officer for Puttalam District.
Few government officials of the district including Deputy Director of Agriculture, 143 Brigade Commander, Agrarian officials of the district and experts in the field attended the discussion.
