USD 4.1 mn Japanese boost for plant quarantine facilities

Sri Lanka will receive JPY 500 mn (USD 4.1 mn) from Japan to expand agricultural production and exports and help import of safe agricultural products and organic fertilisers by enhancing the phytosanitary capacity of five Plant Quarantine Stations, including National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) and the facility at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

Japanese Ambassador Mizukoshi Hideaki and Finance Secretary S.R. Attygalle, Secretary signed the agreement in this regard yesterday (04).

Recently NPQS attracted international attention when a Chinese company filed a case against the facility over the rejection of a consignment of carbonic fertiliser from China.

The following is the text of a statement issued by the Japanese Embassy yesterday: “Sri Lanka has a long history of exporting quality agricultural products including tea, rubber, coconut, spices, flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc. To accelerate the economic recovery from the pandemic, Japan decided to provide modern Japanese equipment to contribute to the rapid detection of pests in agricultural products and expedite import and export clearance. The series of equipment will enable Sri Lanka to meet phytosanitary requirements in high-end markets and increase the export of fresh fruits and vegetables such as mangoes, rambutan, papayas, pineapples, and curry leaves to Western countries, Japan, and other countries.

Japan believes that this assistance will contribute to improve farmers’ income and the acquisition of foreign currency with increased agricultural export earnings, and facilitate the Green Agriculture Policy in Sri Lanka through import of safe organic fertilizers, while contributing to enhancing food security.

The equipment to be provided includes plant x-ray scanner, DNA sequencing system, incubators, high end microscope, and real time PCR, which will be installed at the NPQS, a facility built in the 1990s by Japan’s grant assistance in Katunayake, and Plant Quarantine Stations at the BIA, Seaport in Colombo, Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport, and Jaffna International Airport.

With the ongoing BIA terminal expansion project, Japan will further support Sri Lanka’s free and open economic development by promoting tourism and agricultural export.”