Climate-Smart Agriculture in Sri Lanka

The document on Climate-Smart Agriculture in Sri Lanka provides a national context, key facts on agriculture and climate change, special considerations, case studies, technologies and practices, institutions and policies, and financing opportunities for Sri Lanka’s agriculture.

Increasingly frequent extreme weather events and rapidly changing climatic patterns pose serious threats to agriculture productivity and food security in Sri Lanka.

The country has taken several important steps towards improving productivity and increasing the resilience of primary production systems, such as rice, maize, and cattle. For example, Sri Lanka has simultaneously focused on improving adaptability with the adoption of improved plant varieties and livestock breeds and on ensuring genetic diversity through the conservation of indigenous varieties.

Adaptation strategies should be accompanied with more robust and extensive mitigation practices that support soil and water conservation and address emissions. Many of the beneficial practices identified for Sri Lanka’s staple production systems are applicable to both small- and large-scale producers.

Scaling up CSA will also require well-articulated knowledge management systems and improving smallholders’ access to financial instruments, resources, and markets. Capacity building, supporting the sharing of knowledge and experience, creating incentives through social, legal, institutional, or economic and market mechanisms, long-term strategic investments in infrastructure, productive capacity, improved products and services, and public-private partnerships are essential to ensure that CSA objectives are achieved and longer term benefits delivered.