Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has proposed expanding the scope of the Sri Lankan military into agriculture by establishing a separate unit despite the on-going damage military occupation has had on the livelihood of Tamils in the North and East.
Rajapaksa claimed that there was a pressing need to make “plantations into profitable ventures” but failed to address increasing land seizures which have occurred under the military and undermined the local economy.
The Minister of Plantation Industries and Export Agriculture, Dr Ramesh Pathirana, stated:
“In 2018, the income from export crops was Rs 538 billion” but the government was hoping to expand this to a “53 billion industry by 2020”.
Whilst claiming that food security would be prioritised, Rajapaksa further proposed restricting imports from foreign countries.
Areas in the North, which are considered part of the Tamil homeland, are a particular focus in terms of coconut plantations. Dr. Ramesh Pathirana has noted that Pallai, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu have had very successful plantations. Villagers from these regions have reported seeing the military seize fertile land to harvest coconuts and to sell them in local markets for a profit.
Read more from Colombo Page and Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research
