The Lands Ministry has drawn up a Bill to free lands for large-scale cultivation of high-value export crops in the new year, Additional Secretary to the Land Development Ministry, Darshana Wickremaarachchi told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
Consultations are now taking place with the Legal Draftsman, he said.
When the Bill becomes law, the Government could allocate lands rapidly for export-oriented crop cultivations, such as cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, cocoa, coffee and other high-value cash crops, he said.
Officials of the Lands Ministry said this is in line with President Wickremesinghe’s policy initiative to move to an entirely export-oriented economy.
The area of land to be given to those planning to cultivate and export these crops will be over 50 acres per head, Wickremaarachchi said.
“The land will be allocated exclusively to large export-oriented agriculture projects,” he said.
The draft Bill would cut cumbersome procedures in the current Land Act. The release of land to high-value crop farmers would allow export agriculture entrepreneurship to flourish, he added.