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| Friday, 23 April 2004 |
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USAID officials gave farm equipment worth over $25,000 to farmers at the Agrarian Service Centre in Siyambalanduwa, near the border of the Moneragala and Ampara Districts, yesterday, an US Embassy press release stated. USAID granted the farming equipment to the presidents of 10 farmers' societies, which together comprise the Tissa Farmer Organisation Federation. Formed in 2001, the Tissa Farmer Organisation Federation aims to the raise standard of living of member organisations through skill development and capacity building. Because of the war, many area farmers have been displaced repeatedly, resulting in a loss of arable land to the jungle and theft of equipment, tools and livestock. Under the terms of the grant, each farmers' society will receive five spraying machines, two kerosene oil water pumps, two thresher fans, four paddy trashing mats and two tractor-pulled paddy thrashers. More than 10,000 people in the area will benefit from the grant. At the opening, USAID Office of Transition Regional Program Manager Wayne Brook said: "USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives is privileged to partner with the Tissa Farmer Organization Federation in providing area farmers with this new equipment. We understand that you and your families, like Sri Lankans across the island, have suffered tremendously because of war." He added: "This gift from the people of America to the people of Siyambalanduwa is the direct result of more than two years of peace. Secure that peace, make it last, so that all Sri Lankans can reap the harvest of seed well sown." USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives supports efforts to end the long-standing conflict in Sri Lanka by demonstrating tangible benefits of peace, increasing the exchange of information and diverse points of view on peace issues among various levels of society and communities, and reducing or preventing incidents of violence in conflict prone communities. |
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