Courtesy Adaderana

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has considered the possibility of using digital technology as a medium to exchange data among the farmers, consumers, and suppliers, stated President’s Media Division.

Secretaries to the Ministries of Agriculture, Internal Trade, Consumer Welfare, Plantation Industries, and Export Agriculture and several other officials including officials of Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute held an explorative meeting at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon (April 30).

At the meeting, the prospect of applying digital technology to a quick exchange of data to sell agro-crops from wholesale buyers to daily consumers was discussed in depth.

The mechanism is also expected to assist the farmers to easily compete to obtain a profitable price for their crops.

The President emphasized that anyone should be able to join this digital exchange via easily accessible, simple technology. The final objective is to create a self-sufficient Sri Lanka, President Rajapaksa further added.

Further, digital technology will connect Divisional Secretariats with each other, directly linking farmers and the buyer conveniently. It is expected to cut down the middleman and secure a higher profit for the farmer through this process.

This practice could also be used as a survey to examine the consumer needs of the Sri Lankan citizens, states PMD. 

The President added that the Sri Lanka Transport Board, the Railways, and the Postal Department should be incorporated in this digitalization process and its operations for transportation purposes.

Minister Chamal Rajapaksa and Secretary to the President, Mr. P.B. Jayasundera were also present at the discussion.