By Skandha Gunasekara As a measure to encourage domestic agriculture production, the Government has decided to give state land for cultivation to farmers, The Morning learnt. Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation Industries Ravindra Hewavitharana told The Morning that the decision had been taken to give priority to certain crops for more cultivation. “We have identified several crops such as maize, turmeric, and ginger that need more aggressive cultivation to meet local demands. Therefore, the Government is letting out state lands from various locations, including plantations, to farmers to cultivate such crops,” he said. Hewavitharana said the production of crops, particularly maize, needs to be increased as maize is used in the poultry industry as animal feed as well. At present, there is a ban on all maize imports following the Covid-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, Hewavitharana pointed out that letting out state land to farmers was an age-old practice. “This has been going on for years, where the Government will give a portion of its land for farmers to use. However, the farmers will not have ownership of the land; just the freedom to use the land for cultivation,” he said, adding that such lands are let out for around five years at a time, but that the time periods could differ.