Mr. Gunadasa Samarasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Senior Officials of the Ministry and Subject Specialists of the CSIAP attended this meeting.
Photograph by Pathum Rasanjana, Ministry of Agriculture
The Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) continues to support farmers by providing timely agricultural inputs to ensure uninterrupted cultivation in project-implemented areas. Under this initiative, approximately 700 farmers representing producer societies in Mallikativu, Manakandal, and Puthukudiyiruppu East recently received agricultural inputs valued at Rs. 6.65 million.
Wide Range of Inputs Distributed
A wide range of inputs was distributed among
beneficiary farmers, including 13 varieties of vegetable seeds, turmeric and
ginger rhizomes, 50 grow bags, fruit and multipurpose plants such as guava,
lime, murunga, papaw, and passion fruit, as well as manioc and sweet potato
cuttings. These inputs aim to enhance crop diversity, productivity, and
household nutrition.
World Bank Support to Farming Communities
The distribution event was attended by a World Bank
mission led by Mr. Sheu Salau, Co–Task Team Leader (TTL) and Mission Leader of the CSIAP, who personally handed over the inputs to farmers along with CSIAP staff.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Salau emphasized the World Bank’s continued
commitment to improving agricultural productivity and raising the living
standards of farming communities.
Participation of Key Stakeholders
The event was attended by Consultant Mr. S. Manoharan,
Dr. Athula Senarathne, Senior Agriculture Specialist of the World Bank, Mr.
George Babu, Provincial Deputy Project Director (Northern Province), as well as
subject specialists and officers of the CSIAP, highlighting strong
collaboration among stakeholders.
Strengthening Climate-Smart Agriculture
Through such interventions,
CSIAP aims to strengthen climate-resilient agricultural practices, support
smallholder farmers, and ensure sustainable food production in vulnerable
regions of the Northern Province
Story by R. Sanjeepan (Institutional Development & Capacity Building Specialist), NP, CSIAP
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The Sales Centre & Training Hall built at the Agrarian Service Center in Puthukudiyiruppu, Mullaitivu under the modernization of Agrarian Service Centers was inaugurated by the World Bank recently. The World Bank Delegations led by Mr. Sheu Salau, CO- Task Team Leader (TTL) of the CSIAP & Mission Leader along with Consultant Mr. S. Manoharan ceremonially opened the new Center and Hall by unveiling the plague, and the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) spent Rs 10m to modernize the Puthukudiyiruppu Agrarian Service Center. Dr. Athula Senarathne, Senior Agriculture Specialist of the World Bank, Mr. George Babu, Provincial Deputy Project Director (Northern Province) Subject Specialists and Officers of the CSIAP were on this attended this occasion.
Story
by R. Sanjeepan (Institutional Development & Capacity Building Specialist),
NP, CSIAP
The
World Bank Team arrived in Koolamurippu village, Mullaitivu to supervise Climate Smart
Nutritional Sensitive Home Garden (CSNSHG), Crop Clink and Compost Production
Programmes conducted by the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) recently. The World Bank Officials met members of a Producer Society in the village to
find CSISP’s contribution to improving productivity and livelihoods. Farmers in
the village highly appreciated the support provided by the CSIAP to improve productivity.
The World Bank Delegations led by Mr. Sheu Salau, CO- Task Team Leader (TTL) of the CSIAP & Mission Leader along with Consultant Mr. S. Manoharan and Dr. Athula Senarathne, Senior Agriculture Specialist, Mr. George Babu, Provincial Deputy Project Director (Northern Province) Subject Specialists and Officers of the CSIAP were on this tour.
Story by R. Sanjeepan (Institutional Development & Capacity Building Specialist), NP, CSIAP
The Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) commenced a two-day residential workshop at the Project Management Unit (PMU) this morning (09th) to train finance and accounts staff attached to the Provincial Deputy Project Directors’ offices and the PMU on the use of the Financial Management Information System (FMIS).
Transition to Digital Financial Management
From December 01 onwards, all finance and accounts
activities of CSIAP will be managed through the FMIS. The introduction of this
system marks a significant step toward improving efficiency, accuracy,
transparency, and accountability in the project’s financial management
processes.
FMIS Developed for CSIAP and Hands-On Training by System Developers
The Financial Management Information System has been
specifically designed for CSIAP by Soft Vision Technologies (Pvt) Ltd to meet
the project’s operational and reporting requirements.
Mr. T. T. Dhayalan, System Analyst and Consultant from Soft Vision Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, along with his technical team, is conducting the training sessions. Participants are being provided with hands-on experience to familiarize themselves with the system’s functions and practical application in day-to-day financial operations.
Photograph by Gayani Dassanayake,
PMU-CSIAP
The World Bank Team led by Mr. Sheu Salau, CO- Task Team Leader (TTL) of the CSIAP & Mission Leader along with Consultant Mr. S. Manoharan and Dr. Athula Senarathne, Senior Agriculture Specialist met members of the Social Audit Committee and Farmer Organization in the area. The World Bank insisted that the farming community in the project area will be aided. The World Bank advised the contractor of the tank to speed up the rehabilitating process and explain to them the necessity of completing construction as planned.
Mr. George Babu, Provincial Deputy Project Director (Northern Province)
Subject Specialists and Officers of the CSIAP were present in this meeting.
Story by R. Sanjeepan (Institutional Development & Capacity Building Specialist), NP, CSIAP
The World Bank Delegations led by Mr. Sheu Salau, CO- Task Team Leader (TTL) of the CSIAP & Mission Leader met the Social Audit Committee & the Producer Society in the village to highlight the importance of rehabilitating tank which leads to the improving productivity. Mr. Salau pointed out the World Bank’s interest in supporting the farming community in the Northern Province to improve their livelihoods.
Consultant Mr. S. Manoharan, Dr. Athula Senarathne, Senior Agriculture Specialist of the World Bank, Eng. R.M.B. Rajakaruna, Project Director, Mr. George Babu, Provincial Deputy Project Director (Northern Province) Subject Specialists and Officers of the CSIAP were on this mission.
Story by R. Sanjeepan (Institutional Development & Capacity Building Specialist), NP, CSIAP
United
Nations Climate Change Conference ( COP27)
The
Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC from 06th to 18th November 2022
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The
United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 27 takes place in Sharm
el-Sheikh, Egypt from 6 to 18 November 2022. The Climate Conference of the
Parties is held every year since 1995. It provides a platform for stakeholders
to discuss the climate crisis on a global level. Annually, the conference
brings actions on issues to addressing the climate emergency from reducing
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), helping communities build resilience and adapt
to the impacts of climate change, financing climate actions and addressing loss
and damage all over the world. This year, the climate conference supposes to
assess the progress of the nation toward enhancing resilience and
helping the most vulnerable communities.
Sri Lanka, a member county of the United Nations intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is experiencing climate-related natural disasters that resulted in major economic impacts. The damages caused by natural disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones and landslides are reducing the economic value of the country. The agriculture sector of the country plays a major role in the economy and most of the farmers in the agriculture sector are smallholders, largely depending on rainwater. This has increased the risk of adverse climate change impacts on smallholder farmers.
In this context, it is appropriate to brief on the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) in Sri Lanka which has been designed to improve the productivity and climate resilience of smallholder agriculture in climatically vulnerable hotspot areas. This project is implementing strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the smallholder agriculture sector through the introduction of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices to boost agriculture production and marketing. CSIAP educate the farmers and develop their skills with scientific knowledge on CSA. The newly established Farm Field School (FFS) will launch its operation in a few weeks to provide scientific training to promote CSA practices to mitigate the climate change impact. The concept of Farm Business School promotes CSA practices in hotspot areas to increase resilience and adapt to climate change. Demonstration Villages have been established to multiply CSA technology transfer to uplift the farmer's cultivation practices.
Cultivation programs including Maha Season, Yala Season, Inter-Seasons, Climate Smart Nutrition Sensitive Home Gardens and Cluster Villages are being implemented to promote CSA practices and increase the resilience of farmers. The beneficiaries are able to achieve maximum production from their farmlands using CSA practices and it helped their socioeconomic resilience. The project introduced new institutional arrangements including Producer Society and Producer Associations to strengthen the farmers against climate change. These institutions are the foundation of a community organization to take collective decisions to promote CSA practices and develop their plan for mitigating climate vulnerability and enhancing climate resilience.
The water for agriculture program is building climate resilience and supporting the rehabilitation of irrigation systems targeting possible future climate changes. It aimed to collect more rainwater and surface runoff to mitigate floods and drought by buffering against climate change. Hydrological assessments and water balance studies have been conducted in 14 river basins to assess effective water availability for the future in river basins, watersheds and cascades of tanks.
Socio-economic well-being is the paramount requirement to strengthen climate resilience in society. Social vulnerability is higher among the elders, women-headed families, differently able people, and economically marginalized people. CSIAP provided safety nets for over 70,000 vulnerable community families in eleven hotspot areas. The community has been strengthened by social and economic capital to mitigate climate change impact and increase resilience.
Climate
resilience in biodiversity plays a major role in balancing the production
system. As land becomes increasingly scarce and impacts climate change, an
effective management system needs to balance conflicting demand or land use in
a large landscape. Sustainable management of natural resources will ensure
ecosystem resilience. CSIAP is implementing Agro-ecological Landscape
Resilience Studies in selected hotspot areas to conduct auditing the landscapes
to understand their ecological character both in production and non-production
habitat, current issues and challenges and seek opportunities to bring in
greater environmental and social resilience through appropriate integration of
sustainable agroecological practices to face future climate change risk.
The above study will provide hotspot area development guiding principles that will address a number of key points including land degradation neutrality and nutritional security; the welfare of the watershed community and economic gains to the farmers; adaptation to climate change; emphasis on secondary agriculture; promoting land use and production systems in sync with climate and soil site-suitability of land resources; scientific planning based on technology inputs, spatial and non-spatial data, hydro-geologic and aquifer characteristics; institutional sustainability; and convergence of programs and resources.
The
CSIAP wishes the COP 27 a success!
By
Dr. Janaka Jayawardana,
Environmental
& Social Safeguard Specialist, PMU, CSIAP
The
World Bank Delegations arrived in the Northern Provincial Offices of the
Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) situated in Kilinochchi to
review the current progress in the province under the CSIAP recently. The World Bank
Team led by Mr. Sheu Salau, CO-Task Team Leader (TTL) of the CSIAP met senior
officials of implementing agencies Mr. V.Premakumar, Provincial Director of
Irrigation, Northern Province, Mr. K. Karunanithy, Deputy Director of
Irrigation, Kilinochchi, Mrs. S. Yamini, Acting Deputy Provincial Director of
Agriculture, Mullaitivu and Mr. R. Paraneetharan, Assistant Commissioner
Agrarian Development, Mullaitivu to discuss ongoing project activities which
are implemented and how to move forward to meet the project development
objectives.
Consultant Mr. S. Manoharan and Dr. Athula Senarathne, Senior Agriculture Specialist also represented the World Bank Team. Eng. R.M.B. Rajakaruna, Project Director, Mr. George Babu, Deputy Project Director (Northern Province), Subject Specialists and Officers of the CSIAP attended this meeting. Please click Image to see more photos of the event.
Story by R. Sanjeepan (Institutional Development & Capacity Building Specialist), NP, CSIAP
Showcasing Climate-Smart Agriculture at Community
Level
The World Bank officials recently visited the Climate Smart
Demonstration Village established in Keppapulavu village, located within the
Mulliyawalai Agrarian Service Centre area of Mullaitivu District in the
Northern Province. The visit aimed to observe firsthand how climate-smart
agricultural practices are being implemented at village level under the Climate
Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) and how these interventions are
contributing to improved agricultural productivity and resilience.
Engagement with Farmer Producer Society to
Strengthen Livelihoods
During the visit, the World Bank delegation engaged in
discussions with the Keppapulavu Producer Society, which was formed under the
CSIAP. The discussions focused on identifying additional support required to
further enhance crop productivity, strengthen market linkages, and improve the
livelihoods of farming families in the village. The Producer Society shared its
experiences, challenges, and successes in adopting climate-smart technologies
and practices.
The CSIAP Support Enables Sustainable Cultivation
Practices
The CSIAP has extended comprehensive support to the
Keppapulavu Producer Society by providing quality inputs, improved seed
varieties, and continuous technical guidance. These interventions have enabled
farmers to adopt sustainable cultivation practices, optimize water use, and
improve yields, while enhancing resilience to climate variability.
High-Level World Bank Delegation Observes
On-Ground Impact
The World Bank team was headed by Mr. Sheu Salau, Co–Task Team
Leader (TTL) of the CSIAP, and included Mr. Seenithamby Manoharan, Consultant; Dr.
Athula Senaratne, Senior Agriculture Specialist representing the World Bank;
along with Mr. George Babu, Deputy Project Director (Northern Province), and
CSIAP subject specialists and officers. The delegation commended the progress
achieved at the demonstration village and reaffirmed the World Bank’s
commitment to supporting climate-resilient agricultural development in Sri
Lanka.
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Mr. Salau insisted that all staff of the CSIAP including Provincial Deputy Project
Director Offices should work hard to achieve Project Development Objectives
that lead to improving the productivity and climate resilience of the farming
community where the CSIAP is being implemented. The World Bank stands with the
CSIAP staff to support and guide them to move forward with project activities, he further
added. Subject Specialists and Officers of the PMU were present in this
meeting. Please click Images to see more photos of the event.
Photographs
by Gayani Dassanayake, PMU-CSIAP
The Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) has
taken initiative to establish market linkage between farmers and leading retail
change to sell agricultural production.
Mr. Sheu Salau, CO-Task Team Leader (TTL) of the CSIAP,
Consultant Mr. S. Manoharan, Dr. Athula Senarathne, Senior Agriculture
Specialist represented the World Bank. Mr. George Babu, Deputy Project Director
(Northern Province), Subject Specialists and Officers of the CSIAP were present
in this meeting.
Story by R.
Sanjeepan (Institutional Development & Capacity Building Specialist), NP,
CSIAP
The 470 farmers are selected for this home garden programme in Kuchchaveli ASC area and 14 varieties of seed packs, grow bags & 25 Kg of compost have been given per beneficiary at the initial stage. Farmers expressed their gratitude to the World Bank Officials & the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project for the rehabilitation Agro wells and for improving their livelihood through Yala & Inter Seasonal cultivation. Also, they insisted that more service and support from World Bank through CSIAP Project would be expected furthermore.
Mr. K. Kunanathan, Divisional Secretary, Kuchchavelli, Mr.S. Vimalathas, Principal, Thriyayi Tamil Maha Vidyalayam, Grama Niladari, Economic Development Officers, Trincomalee and Dr. R.M. Ariyadasa, Deputy Project Director (Eastern Province), Subject Specialists and Officers of the CSIAP were present in this event.
Story by K.Karthiga (Monitoring & Evaluation Officer), CSIAP, EP
Consultant Mr. S. Manoharan, Dr. Athula Senarathne, Senior Agriculture Specialist joined the World Bank Team. Mr. I.K.G Muthubanda, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Eastern Province, Mr. G. Senthuran, Provincial Deputy Director of Irrigation, Trincomalee and Dr. R.M. Ariyadasa, Deputy Project Director (Eastern Province), Subject Specialists and Officers of the CSIAP attended this event. Please click Images to see more photos of the meeting.
Story by K. Karthiga (Monitoring & Evaluation Officer), CSIAP, EP