Japan Grants JPY 500 Million (USD 4.1 Million) Agricultural Plant Quarantine Equipment to Strengthen Sri Lanka’s Agricultural Exports and Green Agriculture Policy

On April 4, H.E. MIZUKOSHI Hideaki, Ambassador of Japan, signed the Exchange of Notes for the grant assistance totaling JPY 500 Million (USD 4.1 Million) with Mr. S.R. Attygalle, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, to expand agricultural production and exports and help import of safe agricultural products and organic fertilizers in Sri Lanka by enhancing phytosanitary capacity of five Plant Quarantine Stations including National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) and Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

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 the 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, rambutans, 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 the 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.