Topic
Agriculture
1,763 speeches · 318 speakers
Party share
By the speaker's party · counts only, no scoring. "Unattributed" = speeches not resolved to an MP.
Most active on this topic
| # | Member | Speeches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hon. Namal Karunaratne, M.P. JJB | 104 |
| 2 | Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe, M.P. JJB | 93 |
| 3 | Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna, M.P. JJB | 83 |
| 4 | Hon. (Dr.) Susil Ranasinghe, M.P. JJB | 48 |
| 5 | Hon. Kins Nelson, M.P. SJB | 39 |
| 6 | Hon. K.D. Lal Kantha, M.P. JJB | 37 |
| 7 | Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, M.P. NDF | 32 |
| 8 | Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa, M.P. JJB | 32 |
| 9 | Hon. Sajith Premadasa, M.P. SJB | 32 |
| 10 | Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar, M.P. JJB | 30 |
Speeches
1,763 on this topic- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar - Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources JJB AI summary Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar said the Government is examining illegal and harmful fishing practices, particularly purse seine net use, night diving and fishing with powerful lights, following concerns raised about fishermen in Trincomalee and other coastal districts. He stated that although purse seine fishing is already banned, enforcement problems remain, and a new Cabinet paper has been submitted with legislation being drafted for future presentation to Parliament. He said NARA and NAQDA have been asked to study related issues, including possible amendments on mesh size, while the Government is considering future action against illegal night diving and wider measures to protect marine resources and fishermen’s livelihoods. Adjournment - Fishing Practices in Trincomalee and Parliamentary Decentralized Funds Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Imran Maharoof SJB AI summary Hon. Imran Maharoof asked why permits for night diving to catch cuttlefish, suspended since 2019, have not been restored, noting its foreign exchange value and asking whether NARA or NAQDA has issued guidance. He requested annual data on income from night-caught cuttlefish for 2015–2025 and sought clarification on lawful alternatives for fishermen affected by the prohibition on purse seine fishing, particularly in his district. Adjournment - Fishing Practices in Trincomalee and Parliamentary Decentralized Funds Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF AI summary Hon. Ravi Karunanayake supported proposals to build a production and knowledge-based economy, arguing that youth across all communities need access to capital rather than Government jobs. He called for the Central Bank to allocate at least 10 percent of its specific lending schemes to youth entrepreneurship and said its independence should not be used to obstruct national fiscal policy. He proposed redirecting funds currently used for entities such as SriLankan Airlines toward youth enterprises, including support for small rice mills, and claimed about Rs. 150 billion could help create one million youth entrepreneurs. Private Members' Motion No. 4: Making Every Youth Gainfully Employed Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) M.L.A.M. Hizbullah SLMC AI summary Dr. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah argued that youth support should focus on enabling self-employment rather than providing monthly stipends. He called for State action to equip young people in sectors such as agriculture and technology so they can generate income and contribute to national assets, and urged concrete implementation of the motion. Private Members' Motion No. 4: Making Every Youth Gainfully Employed Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Lasith Bhashana Gamage JJB AI summary Hon. Lasith Bhashana Gamage supported Hon. Ravi Karunanayake’s motion, arguing that youth development should begin with cultivating civic responsibility, clear educational pathways, and productive attitudes rather than relying only on employment or entrepreneurship slogans. He called for restructuring school education and integrating vocational education into curricula, citing the “Sahodara Piyapath” programme with the University of Peradeniya as evidence that many students lack targets for A/Ls or further study. He also noted ongoing discussions under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to promote agricultural entrepreneurship through youth camps, the National Youth Services Council, State farms, and coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture. Private Members' Motion No. 4: Making Every Youth Gainfully Employed Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri SJB AI summary Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri urged the Government to address livestock-sector issues, including the shortage of veterinarians and pasture land, citing a proposal to recruit 82 veterinary doctors and concerns affecting dairy farmers in Ampara. He also called for current corruption investigations to proceed without political interference, warning that ministerial directives could undermine accountability, and urged action against wrongdoing both inside and outside the Government. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri SJB AI summary Chaminda Wijesiri thanked Members and the Deputy Minister for their responses to his motion on strengthening the livestock sector, emphasizing that the aim was to make underused systems productive rather than discard workers or institutions. He highlighted proposals raised during the debate, including resolving conflicts between wildlife zones and dairy farmers, making unprofitable livestock farms viable, addressing egg price increases despite surplus production, and creating mechanisms for domestic absorption and export. He also urged the Government to consider converting local liquid milk into powder to reduce import impacts on dairy farmers and to expedite recruitment of veterinary officers through the Department of Management Services. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Namal Karunaratne - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock JJB AI summary The Deputy Minister said the Government aims to increase daily milk production from about one million to three million litres through a dairy sector plan including value-addition centres in every veterinary range, starting in Anuradhapura in 2025, expanded farm targets, improved evening milk collection, cold-chain support, and better breeding stock through sexed semen imports rather than unsuitable cattle imports. He said Sri Lanka currently produces about 40 percent of its milk requirement and that a formal programme launch is planned for the 20th of the month. On poultry, he outlined measures to support egg and meat production by supplying concessional maize directly to small producers, promoting maize cultivation on fallow lands, setting fair purchase prices, and establishing State-backed parent stock farms to provide chicks at reduced prices while reducing intermediary influence. He also noted plans to strengthen goat breeding and referred to the impact of a severe viral outbreak on the swine industry and wild boar. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. M.S. Abthul Wazeeth SLMC AI summary Hon. M.S. Abthul Wazeeth highlighted the scale of livestock farming in Ampara District and the need for natural grazing lands to support animal nutrition and farmers’ livelihoods. He referred to stalled efforts to relocate grazing areas to Kumbukkottai near Rottai Kulam and noted that a site identified by the Pottuvil Divisional Secretariat in 1993 has still not been formally declared. He called for the development and proper designation of grazing lands in the district. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Sellaththamby Thilaganathan JJB AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Sellaththamby Thilaganathan stated that the livestock sector’s contribution to GDP has declined and identified feed scarcity, particularly grazing access for indigenous cattle in the dry zone, as a key constraint. He said 20,000 acres in Mullaitivu had been agreed in principle with the Forest Department for grazing, with similar steps planned in Vavuniya and Mannar, and proposed wet-zone grazing and dry-zone feed crop cultivation for commercial dairy. He also noted inadequate staffing at 337 veterinary stations and said Service Minutes were being prepared to strengthen veterinary cadres, while emphasizing the need to raise domestic milk production from about 40% to reduce imports and improve nutrition. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Ajith P. Perera SJB AI summary While supporting the motion, Ajith P. Perera urged the Government to prioritize an updated national elephant census, noting that the last census was conducted in 2011 and recorded 5,879 elephants, including 122 tuskers. He cited recent human–elephant conflict deaths among both people and elephants and requested accurate data on elephant numbers, sex ratios, district and reserve distribution, corridors, and movement patterns. He argued that such data is necessary for agriculture, tourism, conservation, and national planning. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Kitnan Selvaraj JJB AI summary Hon. Kitnan Selvaraj supported the motion, noting that domestic milk production had fallen from about 81% of national needs before 1977 to around 40%, which he attributed to increased milk powder imports by multinational companies after 1977. He said the Government is taking national measures, including strengthening coordination through regional veterinary offices, to rebuild the dairy and livestock sector and move toward self-sufficiency. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney-at-Law SJB AI summary Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara supported the motion and raised concerns over a surplus in egg production, particularly affecting small poultry farmers in Kurunegala, with farm-gate prices falling to Rs. 20–22 despite production costs of around Rs. 32–35 per egg. He attributed the crisis to uncontrolled hatchery and breeder hen expansion and urged regulation of breeding, action on feed and input costs, and stabilization of farm-gate prices to prevent smallholders being displaced by larger operators. He also requested that kurakkan imports be avoided during local harvesting periods and that farmers receive at least Rs. 150–160 per kilogram. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Sudath Balagalla JJB AI summary Hon. Sudath Balagalla supported the motion while urging a scientific and practical approach to managing wildlife–livestock interactions, noting that cattle grazing in areas such as Maduru Oya can reduce elephant fodder and increase village incursions. He said State livestock farms, including Girandurukotte, should be revitalized through investment, expanded herds, processing facilities, smallholder sheds, and fodder plots. He also stated that MILCO had been returned to profitability within several months and called for implementation without political point-scoring. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Rohana Bandara AI summary Hon. Rohana Bandara seconded the motion and argued that the livestock sector can reduce unemployment and improve nutrition, but dairy farmers face setbacks from COVID-era disruptions, pricing issues, rejected milk collection, fodder shortages, and restrictions linked to protected areas. He called for coordination among Wildlife, Forest, and Livestock authorities to protect traditional dairy livelihoods, especially where grazing lands and animal recovery are affected by sanctuary boundaries, and cautioned that importing cattle without management support is ineffective. He also raised a local eviction issue affecting a dairy shed operator in Anuradhapura and proposed organizing kurakkan producers in the North Central Province into cooperatives to stabilize prices and prevent exploitation. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri SJB AI summary Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri moved a motion calling on the Government to prepare a programme to increase the livestock sector’s contribution to national production. He argued that developing dairy and poultry could reduce imports, save foreign exchange, improve child and maternal nutrition, and create rural employment and SME opportunities. He urged the Government to present concrete short-, medium-, and long-term plans with locations, targets, and timelines, while prosecuting corruption separately rather than relying on political recriminations. Private Members' Motion No. 3: Livestock Sector Enhancement Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Rohana Bandara AI summary Hon. Rohana Bandara urged the Government to handle “Saubhagya” banks and similar institutions cautiously to avoid panic withdrawals and protect depositors, while strengthening supervision to curb predatory lending and pyramid-type schemes. He supported expanding producer co-operatives, particularly for kurakkan and vegetables in Anuradhapura and the North Central Province, to stabilize prices and improve marketing for farmers. He also requested reforms to co-operative staffing scales, petty cash limits, training institutions, pension payments, governance conflicts, and auditing support, proposing Anuradhapura as a pilot district for comprehensive co-operative strengthening. Private Members' Motion No. 1: Co-operative Rural Banks Supervision Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development JJB AI summary Dr. Anil Jayantha said co-operative rural banks are not licensed “banks” under the Banking Act unless they conduct banking business with Central Bank authorization, and warned that excessive involvement in finance without safeguards has created risks. He stated that the Government has Cabinet approval for a committee to examine how to broaden co-operative activity, including finance, while strengthening regulation through provincial authorities and the Department of Co-operative Development. He also rejected claims about the scale of co-operative funds, referred to ongoing work on US tariff negotiations, and said the Government’s aim is to expand co-operatives within a stable fiscal and monetary framework. Private Members' Motion No. 1: Co-operative Rural Banks Supervision Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney-at-Law SJB AI summary Supported Rohana Bandara’s proposal to strengthen the rural bank and co-operative system, citing their role in rural credit, women’s livelihoods, and small entrepreneurship, while calling for a clear regulatory framework to prevent mismanagement and deposit theft. Requested that rural banks be included in the Central Bank reimbursement mechanism for the senior citizens’ fixed deposit interest top-up, warning that deposits are shifting to commercial banks. Also raised concerns over reduced margins for co-operative fuel outlets, political interference in North Western Province co-operatives, and the impact of 18% VAT on co-operative sales divisions, urging exemptions or relief. Private Members' Motion No. 1: Co-operative Rural Banks Supervision Read →
- 11 July 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Susil Ranasinghe - Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation JJB AI summary The Deputy Minister said embankments on the southern bank of the Gal Oya had weakened due to paddy cultivation up to the riverbank, contributing to flooding during the last Maha season. He stated that around 250 metres of permanent embankment stabilization using earthworks, with Rs. 111 million allocated, had commenced, and that additional work over about four kilometres near the anicut was also funded and under way in line with technical recommendations. Oral Questions - First Round Read →