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FAO boost to fruit value chain development

The Island

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September 03, 2025

The North Central Provincial Department of Agriculture yesterday (02) inaugurated a state-of-the-art Banana Tissue Culture Planting Material Production Laboratory at the In-Service Training Institute in Maha Illuppallama, North Central Province, with technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of

the United Nations (FAO) under the South-South Cooperation (SSC) Programme with the People’s Republic of China.

The text of the FAO statement: “The laboratory, equipped through FAO’s support, will provide high-quality banana tissue cultured planting materials to farmers in the North Central, Northern, and North Western Provinces. Until now, farmers in these regions have relied on supplies transported from the southern part of the country, which proved both costly and inefficient due to transport-related damage.

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