Sri Lanka recently amended the National Fisheries Policy, incorporating all relevant SSF Guidelines. A number of institutions supported and facilitated this welcome change. They include the Sri Lanka Forum for Small-Scale Fisheries (SLFSSF); the National Fisheries Solidarity (NAFSO); an array of renowned scientists; and two important international organizations, namely, the...

Babarandage don Sarath Appuham, a 59-year-old fisherman, has worked at Negombo Lagoon since he was a teenager. Palpable differences in tide patterns and fish catches from climate change have complicated his work. “We used to always go at 9am, then 1pm. It’s no longer that predictable,” Sarath told Al Jazeera. They have...

Smallholder farmers are important food producers globally. However, they often struggle to meet international standards on trade and related plant health requirements. Bridging the gap between smallholder farms and the global market is now more important than ever. Through South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) programmes, producers, exporters and technical experts are...

The present study reports the population structure, genetic admixture and phylogeography of cattle breeds of Sri Lanka viz. Batu Harak, Thawalam and White cattle. Moderately high level of genetic diversity was observed in all the three Sri Lankan zebu cattle breeds. Estimates of inbreeding for Thawalam and White cattle breeds...

In his 30 years as a farmer, Illeperuma Arachchilage Rathnayake, or Rathnayake as he’s known in his village, struggled to unlock the full potential of his onion seed cultivation. He began cultivating this crop as a 22-year-old with no official training but relied on lessons and cues from other farmers...

This guide explores the climate-smart intensification of upland and lowland crop production systems in the dry-zone of Sri Lanka and provides technical guidance to achieve the productive objectives of selected strategic crops (as deemed relevant by the Government of Sri Lanka). The first edition focuses on maize and groundnut upland...

Food waste (FW) is a key challenge on the sustainable development agenda of countries worldwide. The lack of FW data and insights from its analysis about quantities, causes, and characteristics is a significant obstacle in implementing adequate reduction and prevention interventions for different sectors. The primary purpose of the case...

Months after a container ship carrying toxic chemicals caught fire off the west coast of Sri Lanka, fisherfolk still suffer from the dreadful aftereffects of the country’s worst marine ecological disaster. A 186-m-long container ship called X-Press Pearl, registered in Singapore, arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on the night of 19...

Nearly 30 percent of the population are experiencing acute food insecurity, and will likely deteriorate further unless urgent assistance is provided. An estimated 6.3 million people in Sri Lanka are facing moderate to severe acute food insecurity and their situation is expected to worsen if adequate life-saving assistance and livelihood support...

Agriculture is one of the most important economic sectors of Sri Lanka and is key to the livelihoodof its population. As agriculture is one of the sectors most vulnerable to climate change, a thorough understanding of its impact is critical for formulating informed and effective adaptation strategies. Climate change challenges...

As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the fisher economy of Sri Lanka, leaving households indebted and distressed, co-operatives emerged as a beacon for the small-scale fishing sector’s well-being. Close to 350,000 kg of fish is brought everyday to the Peliyagoda Central Fish market, on the outskirts of Colombo, the capital of Sri...

The overarching objective of this report was to determine, from current evidence and experiences from the region, a view of co-management application and performance. Among the findings of the review are: (1) Co-management is associated with positive trends across a range of social, ecological and governance indicators; (2) While overall...

Women in fisheries in the North and the East region of post-war Sri Lanka continue to face serious safety and livelihood challenges. Then the war between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ended in 2009, the Northern and the Eastern province of Sri Lanka...

The need to ensure farmers’ livelihoods and welfare as well as national food security urges decision-makers to effectively tackle the challenges posed by climate change. Understanding how climate change affects the crop sector is essential for identifying appropriate and effective solutions to increase the resilience of the agriculture sector to...

We are all familiar with organic milk, organic fruit and vegetables, or organic chocolate, but when one reads “Organic Sri Lanka”, one may have difficulty grasping what this really is about. For sure, it cannot mean that the entire country is organic. Or does it?

In Sri Lanka over 60 percent of the total population are involved in farming and 38 percent of the total workforce are farm labours, steadily declining the agriculture contribution to GDP. Horticulture plays an important role in providing livelihood to a larger portion of poor people, increases the level of...

On August 30, 2021, Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajpaksa declared economic emergency. The decision was taken to curb hoarding of essential items and to control inflation, since the country is faced with a shortage of food items and a steep rise in prices of essential commodities. Sri Lanka is under a...

Different tree cropping can improve the efficiency of land-use and be an additional source of income for small-scale farmers. Rubber trees need about six years to mature, during this period, an intercropping of the land with banana trees improves both land‑use and income generation. This technology reports on the benefits...

Incorporating the SSF Guidelines into the national fisheries policy requires several rounds of engagement with state and community stakeholders. The onset of the new millennium saw the process of fisheries development taking a new path globally. It’s one with a strong emphasis on offshore and deep-sea fishing, fish exports and the...

Sri Lanka’s National Fisheries Policy needs to be remodelled to incorporate the SSF Guidelines in order to attain the goal of securing sustainable small-scale fisheries. The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development (MFARD) of Sri Lanka recently prepared a White Paper on National Fisheries Policy in 2018, which was approved...