The Spice Cluster Village Programme was launched under the patronage of Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K.D. Lalkantha
The inaugural ceremony of the Cluster Village Programme, implemented by the Department of Export Agriculture targeting spices and export agricultural crops, was held today (10th) in Kegalle under the patronage of Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, K.D. Lalkantha. The Cluster Village Programme operates in line with the national “Export Agriculture Excellence” programme.
Special attention is given to processing export agricultural crops in a manner that meets foreign market requirements, maintaining their quality at a high standard, and preparing spices in a way that is unique to the area. Another objective is to bring together stakeholders such as farmers, producers, and exporters engaged in the spice industry and build them into collective groups. This provides an opportunity to establish the identity of Sri Lankan spice products in the foreign market.
During the year 2026, it is planned to establish 200 cluster villages across the island, and by 2030 it is expected to grow up to 500 villages. The goal of the Department of Export Agriculture is to achieve a target of 455 million dollars from spice exports by 2030.
Under this Cluster Village Programme, Export Agriculture Production Societies will be established in the selected villages and registered with the Department of Export Agriculture. Additionally, increasing production capacity and providing basic agricultural technology to farmers will be carried out during the first two years. Thereafter, opportunities will be provided to improve quality and move towards certification and value-added products. Foreign market coordination will then be carried out subsequently.
The Minister expressed the following views.
“If we look at this programme in rupees, our President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, has allocated 1,200 million rupees. Now we need to use this money and get good results. That is the challenge. There are some departments that are unable to spend their entire allocation by the end of the year. Even though money is allocated in the budget, that entire amount does not get utilized for development activities involving the people. Some departments spend 60%, 70%, and some only 40%. That is how the allocations spend. Today some departments are short of officers. The Department of Export Agriculture also operates with a shortage in essential posts.
If everyone commits to this work, we can make use of the 1,200 million rupees. Although we say we are an agricultural country, the poverty of farmers is visible at a glance. When we talk about an industrial country, the people engaged in industrial activities are wealthy. The biggest responsibility our President has entrusted to our Ministry is to reduce, or even eliminate, the poverty of these farming communities. On the other hand, the people of the country need to have food and drink. It is our responsibility to ensure food security without any shortage of food. Now we have developed a good economic principle for that. That is economic democracy. We introduced the Community Power Programme to involve the people daily in the governance of the country. When a farmer cultivates and finally harvests his crop, he cannot keep that harvested crop for even a week. Either he cannot dry it, or he cannot store it. The farmer has to sell the harvest to the trader as soon as reaping it. He has to give it at whatever price is asked. That is where the farmer becomes poor. So the producer is poor, while the trader is wealthy.
Government employees also live with difficulty. That is why their salaries were increased. Everyone should receive a fair share. That is economic democracy. Then the country is economically just. The fundamental objective of the Cluster Village Programme is to quickly deliver the economic benefits that farmers have long worked hard for but never received. Entrepreneurs are those who come forward to take on a challenge and do something new. Not those who simply carry on with what already exists.”
Minister of Environment Dr. Dammika Patabendi also expressed his views at this event.
It is at a moment when the country is being built up on all fronts that this export agriculture village is being established in this area to develop the export agricultural industry. The selection of the Dedigama electorate in the Kegalle district for this purpose is the right choice. When building the country, there are challenges beyond our control. In recent times we faced Cyclone Ditwah. However, as a country, we have been freeing ourselves from that disaster and carrying out the necessary work to rebuild within a very short period. In the meantime, a regional war has broken out in a way that is beyond our control. We have to rebuild as a country while being subjected to these adverse effects. We are rebuilding the collapsed economy. We are environmentally restoring the damaged environment. Today, for the first time in history, a time has dawned where the political authority of this country, the state machinery including public officials, and the people of this country are all working towards the same goal. Therefore, we are confident that by overcoming all the challenges coming from outside, we will be able to rebuild this fallen country and create ‘A Thriving nation- Beautiful Life’.
The cluster village we are receiving today is a historic opportunity for the Kegalle district. Make use of that opportunity. I request you to contribute towards capturing a significant share of the contribution made to the economy of this country.”
Officials of the Department of Export Agriculture participated in this event.
