Sri Lanka is seriously considering employment of Indian immigrant farm workers to meet the shortage of labour during harvests.

Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena told Express on Sunday that he was discussing with the Ministries of Agriculture and Defence and also the Department of Immigration and Emigration the prospect of getting down Indian farm workers on three or six-month work visas.

“There is urgency in this matter given the fact that harvesting has to be done within a given period of time Already, a small number of Indians are coming on tourist visas and working illegally in farms in the Eastern province. Some of these have been caught by the police and deported. I propose to present a cabinet paper on regularising the employment of farm workers from India after discussions with the various ministries and departments concerned,” he added.

Currently, the illegal immigrant workers come from Tamil Nadu.

Asked if he had any idea of the number of Indian farm workers Sri Lanka might need, Minister Abeywardena said that the numbers would vary from year to year depending upon the need.

Sri Lanka is facing a labour shortage in all sectors. Many able- bodied citizens from the rural and urban areas are now migrating to Italy, Cyprus, Korea and Israel, besides countries in the Middle East in search of employment and higher wages. Minister Abeywardena said that Israel was taking Sri Lankans on six-month work visas. Locals avoid working in Lankan farms because of the comparatively low wages. Indian labourers, on the other hand, are willing. Thirdly, Indian migrant workers have been found to be very good at handling harvesting machines and maintaining and repairing them.

Sri Lanka has traditionally depended on immigrant workers from South India. – Express News Service