Sri Lanka, China hold talks to boost agriculture and address environmental issues

A high level discussion on strengthening Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector with Chinese support and addressing related environmental issues was held yesterday morning (January 22) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

The meeting was conducted under the Memorandum of Understanding on Enhancing China–Sri Lanka Agricultural Productivity and was held under the patronage of the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.

During the discussion, participants held extensive talks on jointly implementing programmes between Sri Lanka and China to resolve key challenges faced by the local agriculture sector and to improve overall productivity.

Attention was also given to the possible use of Chinese technology and tools to address agricultural challenges and related environmental concerns. Discussions included ways to minimise crop damage caused by wild animals and the assistance China could provide for the cleaning and restoration of the Beira Lake.

Several local and Chinese representatives participated in the discussion, including Senior Lecturer Vishvajith Kandegama of the Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management at Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Professor Zhang Guozhu of Guizhou University, and Cao Xuan and Wei Ping from the Department of Commerce and Management of Hubei Province, along with other officials and representatives.