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Sri Lanka’s Draft Overarching Agricultural Policy 2019 is part of a strategic response by the Government of Sri Lanka to the evolving priorities and challenges in the global, national and sectoral environments while working towards the national vision of transforming Sri Lanka into a “knowledge-based, export-oriented competitive economy at the centre of the Indian Ocean”.
At the global level, the trade environment will become more competitive as Sri Lanka consolidates as an upper-middle-income country. Thus, there will be increasing pressure on Sri Lanka to remove quantitative restrictions and lower tariff levels on imports that compete with its home-grown products.
Additionally, there is increasing attention in global markets to product characteristics of food quality, food safety, ethical standards and sustainability.
At the national level, the agricultural sector faces many challenges. At a macro-economic level, because of its relatively small and declining contribution to GDP, the agricultural sector must strive to meet standards set in the wider national economy in areas such as labour productivity, wage rates and incomes, interest rates, and investment attractiveness.
A strategic path forward requires for the sector to build on strengths, address weaknesses, capitalize on opportunities, and counter threats.
The Draft Policy was retrieved from the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Economic Affairs, Irrigation, and Fisheries, And Aquatic Resources Development and the Ministry of National Policies, Economic Affairs, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, Northern Province Development and Youth Affairs and published in August 2019.
Latest Updates:
On 27 October 2021, IPS Research Fellow and Head of Agricultural Policy Research, Dr. Manoj Thibbotuwawa, emphasized the pivotal role of an Overarching Agricultural Policy (OAP) in Sri Lanka to align and synergize policies across the ‘Triple A economy’—Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Animal Husbandry.
Speaking at a workshop organized by the European Union’s Technical Assistance to Modernisation of Agriculture Programme (TAMAP) at Waters Edge, Battaramulla, Dr. Thibbotuwawa highlighted the OAP’s development by the Government of Sri Lanka with EU support.
The workshop, attended by dignitaries including Hon Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Hon Ramesh Pathirana, aimed to present the final OAP draft to relevant government representatives. Ambassador Denis Chaibi of the European Union concluded the event.
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