May 1968.

Newsreel footage of a large parade held at Independence Square in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

Over 60,000 school children headed the parade which was presided over by Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake.

The highlight of the ceremony was the garlanding of the "Govi Rajas", the "King Farmers" whose farms produced the highest yield in 22 districts.

The aim of the "Grow More Food" campaign was to make Ceylon self-sufficient in food production which would save foreign currency for industrial imports.

Prime Minister Senanayake told the spectators that the future of Ceylon lay with the young and in agriculture. He told the thousands of young people in the square to stop looking for white collar jobs and to return to the land.

Source: Reuters Newsreel.