Abandoned coconut lands to be taken over by government: CCB Chairman
- CNL Reporter
- May 16, 2025
- Political
- CCB Chairman
- 0 Comments
The Coconut Cultivation Board (CCB) announced that attention has been focused on taking over and developing 500,000 acres of coconut cultivation land that is currently uncultivated.
CCB Chairman Dr. Sunimal Jayakody stated that lands within the coconut triangle covering the areas of Kurunegala, Gampaha, Puttalam and Kuliyapitiya will be taken over for this purpose.
“An action plan has already been prepared to acquire these uncultivated coconut lands, with legal documentation based on the extent of land cultivated per acre,” he said.
The Chairman explained that many large coconut groves are owned by individuals who have settled abroad, while others fail to maintain productive harvests due to residing far from their properties. As a result, these lands will be acquired with the aim of restoring and developing them.
He added that the acquisition will be carried out through legal transactions and lease agreements, with the lands being returned to their original owners after a specified period.
“The Treasury has already allocated Rs. 790 million for the implementation of this programme. The Coconut Development Board is also preparing a mechanism to cultivate vegetables as undercrops on these lands, with plans to export the produce,” the Chairman said.
Although last year’s annual coconut harvest was approximately 2,700 million coconuts, it is planned to increase this figure to 4,500 million coconuts by 2030 under this initiative, he added.
By Indika Sri Aravinda
