President Ranil Wickremesinghe, stressing the need to modernize Sri Lanka’s agricultural exports, said that he expects the country’s population to drop by at least one million over the next decades.
“Sri Lanka’s population will decline by 1 million by the year 2048. Relatively, the population around us will increase by at least 1 billion, especially, from Africa to Indonesia. This will be our market and we must prepare for it,” the President said.
President Wickremesinghe made these comments addressing the inauguration of the Athurugiriya National Institute of Plantation Management’s new academic and administrative complex.
The President highlighted the institute’s pivotal role in equipping graduates with contemporary skills essential for the plantation industry’s modernization.
“The eradication of poverty from our villages hinges on agricultural development, which is why plans have been devised to leverage existing crops and land while cultivating 500,000 acres of new land,” the President said highlighting the need to adopt modern agricultural practices and the promotion of agribusiness. (Newswire)
