Environment Ministry takes to agriculture in fallow lands with borrowed method from Indonesia

By Ifham Nizam

The Environment Ministry has decided to introduce five more new cultivation projects this year under the ‘sojan’ cultivation system, a traditional Indonesian farming method. Sojan cultivation involves digging trenches between two strips of land to facilitate drainage of non-draining wetlands.

Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that the ‘sojan’ cultivation method was used for effective cultivation in saline lands, swamps as well as paddy lands which can be cultivated but not allowed to drain properly. On such lands, slightly higher ridges are prepared and food crops are grown on them.

Amaraweera has instructed the Ministry officials to give priority to the implementation of as many eco-friendly livelihood development projects as possible through the schemes being implemented by the Ministry as the present government has decided to give priority to the livelihood development of the people in the implementation of development projects in 2022.

These projects are implemented by the Ministry of Environment and the public is entrusted with their maintenance.

A discussion was held at the Ministry of Environment this week on how to give priority in allocating of funds for projects of the Central Environmental Authority.

At the discussion, the Minister stressed to initiate five or more cultivation projects under the ‘sojan’ system for the cultivation of food crops in fallow paddy lands which had not been cultivated so far in the year 2022.

At present, there are 20,917 acres of barren paddy lands in the country which cannot be used for agriculture. Also, 46,325 acres of fallow paddy lands can be cultivated.

Most of the paddy lands which cannot be cultivated are located in the Western Province. That area is 5,903 acres. Also, about 50 percent of the fallow paddy lands that can be cultivated are in the Western Province. It is 18,461.35 acres.

The relevant statistics had been obtained from the Agrarian Development Department, the Minister said.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed all Ministries to take steps this year to implement as many projects as possible under the Environmental Conservation Act to increase the food production of the country.