Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya said on Tuesday that food security rooted in agriculture is a crucial factor affecting a country’s stability, sovereignty and national security, framing youth agribusiness as a strategic national-security investment.
Addressing the National Youth Agripreneur Showcase and B2B Connect Conference organised under the Smallholder Agribusiness Partnership Programme (SAPP), PM Amarasuriya said the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East had exposed how vulnerable economies become when food security is lacking, with “even minor decisions by leaders capable of disrupting supply chains,” Newswire reported.
“Food security, founded on agriculture, directly impacts a nation’s national security. Concepts such as ‘Grow and Sell’ contribute significantly to strengthening the production economy,” the Prime Minister told the conference.
SAPP is jointly funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Sri Lanka, and is designed to draw rural young people into commercial agribusiness rather than subsistence farming.
The Prime Minister warned that climate change is now a structural threat to agriculture, making conditions “unpredictable” and jeopardising production. She said the contribution of young agri-entrepreneurs went beyond income generation, serving as a direct input into national food security.
The remarks come as the Asian Development Bank has warned of a USD 6 billion export gap facing Sri Lanka’s economy and is reviewing the country’s National Export Development Plan. Climate volatility has hit the country’s plantation sector this year and pushed hydropower reservoirs at Castlereigh and Maussakelle to low levels.
PM Amarasuriya thanked IFAD and SAPP for their continued support and pledged that the government would continue to back young entrepreneurial agriculture as part of broader economic recovery.
