Five hundred food preservation centres are being set up in the Nuwara Eliya district to face the impending food crisis in the country.
The programme has been initiated under the direction of the Agriculture Ministry Secretary M.B.R. Pushpakumara and Nuwara Eliya District Secretary Nandana Galaboda.
Galaboda said that the preservation centres are to be set up in the rural areas of the district and the food would be preserved for the future usage.
He added that the country is blessed with a large amount of food which is being wasted daily. If the wasted food in the country could be preserved, that would be ample for many years to come.
Galaboda said that Sri Lankans have deviated from consuming a large variety of local foods that were consumed by their ancestors and have got used to fast foods imitating the foreign cultures which is partially the reason for this crisis.
Taking all these factors into consideration, local food items are being preserved at these centres. Under this programme, dried food items are preserved. In addition seeds and saplings are exchanged while a weekly fair is to be organized as well.
He added that most rural folk would benefit by this programme which should be implemented countrywide to ensure food security.
DN
