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China to Assist Sri Lanka in Paddy Cultivation
The Chinese government will soon send four agricultural scientists to Sri Lanka to assist the island in paddy cultivation, a Chinese diplomat said Monday.
He said it is the first time that China has sent agricultural scientists here to train local counterparts. These Chinese scientists will stay here for three months from September to December to train 40 Sri Lankans on hybrid paddy cultivation.
During the past years, Sri Lanka annually sent several people to China to undergo training on paddy cultivation in a bid to increase paddy yield.
Rice is Sri Lanka's staple diet. However, the country has not been self-sufficient in rice except for a brief period in the 1980s.
From the late 1950s, till the 1980s Sri Lanka imported from between 350,000 to 500,000 tons of rice on a rubber-for-rice barter agreement from China.
Some 200,000 tons of rice are still imported annually to meet local requirements.
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