Apples, pears: PC to turn a new leaf

The Central Provincial Council is encouraging apple and pear cultivation in the province with the aim of cultivating some 200 acres in the region and already the efforts are proving to be a success. Apple and pear cultivators in the central hills had been complaining that the open economy and cyclones experienced in 1978 adversely affected them, but they are now cultivating these fruits again.

In the 1970s Nuwara Eliya was the centre of pear cultivation while apples were grown widely in the Kandy District. With the introduction of the free economy, the import of the two varieties led to the prices of the local fruits to come down as the imported varieties were cheap. This spelled the downfall of the local cultivation as the challenge posed by the imported variety could not be matched by the local ones.

So the growers of these two fruits gradually gave up their cultivation as it was not profitable. The cyclonic winds of 1979 made the cultivators wind up growing these fruits.
One cultivator V.G.Piyadasa had this to say on the issue.

“Gone are the days when apple and pears grew in areas like Pathana, Ragala and Gonakele in Walapone and Nuwara Eliya areas. As the sale of these two fruit varieties did not succeed in the local market, the growers of apples and cultivators of pears had to wind up business. Nature added to their woes with strong winds and the result was that they had to abandon the cultivation. The open economy policy did the rest.”

A.D.Ariyadasa of Ragala made the following comments. “We were able to maintain our families by the cultivation of these two fruits, but today things are different. We appealed to the authorities not to let matters deteriorate but to do something to continue cultivation.

We have appealed to the Central Provincial Council to help us to start cultivation again. According to provincial irrigation minister Jayaratna Dissanayake there is a move to grow these fruits again with the help of the central government. Mr. Dissanayake said he hoped to provide the necessary environment to restart the cultivation and provide a market.”

According to the minister Nuwara Eliya will be the centre of a new project where state assistance will be provided and cultivation started again through model farms. Plans have been made and an area of 200 acres earmarked for cultivation of pears and apples.

The cultivators of these two fruits would be provided with incentives. Already 20 acres of land are under cultivation now, Minister Dissanayake said. The success in the 20 acre plot is said to be satisfactory and state aid is being sought. If an area of 200 acres can be cultivated there is no necessity to import these fruits and the minister solicits the support of cultivators to make this a reality.