A special discussion on preparations for the budget for the year 2027 was held at the Land Ministry auditorium under the patronage of Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, Mr. K.D. Lalkantha
A special discussion on preparations for the budget for the year 2027 was held on the 28th at the Land Ministry auditorium under the patronage of Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, Mr. K.D. Lalkantha. During this meeting, officials were informed about how project proposals should be submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation and its related institutions. The purpose of this discussion was to overcome the challenges that arise when presenting budget proposals in the year 2027.
On this occasion, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, K.D. Lalkantha expressed his views.
“We must prepare for the year 2027 while achieving the targets of the year 2026. If we consider the year 2025, our physical progress was 64%. Financial progress was 61%. We were able to start work only from around May of last year. Therefore, the progress achieved is a significant accomplishment. I am grateful to all the officers who dedicated themselves to this achievement. There are 30 institutions under the purview our Ministry. We hope to visit each institution separately in the future and discuss this matter.
Currently, the progress of a department is measured according to the amount spent from allocated funds. If we consider Milco, we are earning profits by this year. Out of that profit, we gave a bonus to every employee. In the future, we will give a bonus to the farmers who supply milk to Milco. When measuring the progress of a department, we should develop more criteria.
The government also needs to understand the state. The state also needs to understand the government. Only then can we make this successful. In liberalism, the state doesn’t get involved in the economy. Next, an idea comes from those same people that the state should also be involved in the economy. This is social liberalism. Again, they say that now the state should systematically withdraw from the economy. That’s what started in our country after 1977. It was called neo-liberalism.
We are now working on expanding the shrunk state. Then, salaries are increased even without demands. New recruitments are made to the public service. What we want is to establish the government as a strong investor. We are not just looking at the private sector. We need to try to spend at least 90% of the funds allocated to us.
Socialism means 100% government. What we are doing now is increasing the government’s share to compete with the private sector. What I’m talking about is political economics. If we pursue our targets, we can achieve good results.”
Officials of all institutions related to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation participated in this event.
