“Today is International Mother Language Day”

International Mother Language Day is observed on February 21st every year to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.  It recognizes that languages and multilingualism can advance inclusion, and the  Sustainable Development Goals focus on leaving no one behind. The day was first proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999, and has been celebrated annually since 2000.

The purpose of the day is to celebrate the diversity of languages and cultures around the world and to promote awareness of the importance of preserving and protecting linguistic diversity. It also aims to promote the use of mother languages in education and everyday life, as well as to encourage people to learn and use other languages. On International Mother Language Day, people around the world celebrate their mother tongues, organize cultural events, and participate in language-related activities to promote linguistic and cultural diversity.

The Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) funded by the World Bank and implemented under the Ministry of Agriculture uses mother languages to achieve project development objectives in areas where the CSIAP is being implemented in the following way.

1. Effective communication: It is the most natural way of communication for individuals, and using it in agriculture ensures clear and precise communication. In rural areas, farmers may not have a strong grasp of the official language or other languages used in agriculture, and communicating with them in their mother language can help them understand technical information better.

2. Transfer of knowledge and traditional practices: It is often closely tied to the cultural and traditional practices of a community. Using it in agriculture can facilitate the transfer of knowledge and traditional practices from one generation to the next. This is especially important in agriculture, where traditional practices and knowledge can play an important role in sustainable farming and the conservation of natural resources.

3. Engagement and empowerment: Using the mother language in agriculture can help engage and empower farmers who may feel excluded or marginalized due to their limited knowledge of the official language or other languages used in agriculture. This can help create a sense of belonging and community, which can motivate farmers to take an active interest in their work and participate in decision-making processes.

      4. Promotion of local products and culture: It is often closely linked to the culture, identity, and values of a community. Using it in agriculture can help promote local products and culture, which can be beneficial for local economies and the preservation of cultural heritage.

Mother language plays an important role in agriculture by facilitating communication, access to resources, building relationships, and sharing knowledge and best practices. Overall, using the mother language in agriculture can have significant benefits for effective communication, knowledge transfer, empowerment, and the promotion of local products and culture and it can also help create a more inclusive and sustainable agricultural sector to reach the CSIAP’s objectives.

Image: Curtsey of the UN. 

A workshop on "Hydrological Studies Using Software Applications" in NCP

 "Hydrological Studies Using Software Applications", the second one of the workshop series was conducted for engineering and technical staff of the Provincial Irrigation Department, District Agrarian Department and Department of Irrigation in North Central Province by the Design Cell of the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) at the Creston Park Hotel, Anuradhapura recently. The purpose of the workshop was to equip Sri Lankan engineers with knowledge and skills to use software related to Hydrological Studies and to transfer the knowledge gained by the Design Cell of the CSIAP to Implementing Agencies and other authorities related to the Irrigation sector.

This workshop, which was held in two sessions of one week each, had been initiated under the instructions of  Eng R.M.B. Rajakauruna, Project Director, the CSIAP and this workshop was guided by the Senior Engineering Consultant Eng. H.G.M.Kulasinghe.  Project Engineering Consultants Eng. R.M.H.N Bandara and Eng. P.H.S. Rangika made their contribution to the workshop as resource persons along with the Engineering Trainee Mr. B.D.M.S.B Dissanayake. Participants received Certificates of participation in the workshop. Mr. S.M Seelarathne, Deputy Project Director (North Central Province) of the CSIAP of CSIAP (NCP) coordinated the workshop.

A training programme being conducted at the Farmer Field School in Thirappane

The Farmer Field School (FFS)at Thirappane trains farmers and give hands-on experience on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices to address the challenges of building strategies for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and food security (crop productivity),  which are closely related to agriculture and minimize their potential negative impacts and technologies to the beneficiary farmers of hot spot areas in 11 districts of six provinces such as North Western, North Central, Northern, Eastern, Uva and Southern Provinces where the CSIAP is being implemented. The FFS project costs around Rs 40Mn and the Ministry of Agriculture is the main agency responsible for executing the project.  The Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) funded by the World Bank and implemented under the Ministry of Agriculture. increases and builds the capacities of farmers for the use of CSA technologies to combat the climate change impact. The project aims to build a village-level resource person pool with the competencies of CSA technologies & practices from support organization officials and selected leader farmers through the newly established FFS.

 The main objective of FFS is to enhance the capacities of support organization officials and farmer leaders to promote CSA technologies and practices in their villages. Subsequently, the project aims to impart their knowledge and skills on CSA practices to village-level potential farmers to respond to the adverse climate impacts in their villages. In addition, the project mobilizes trained leader farmers to organize training activities and disseminate knowledge on CSA practices among peer groups. All training programs are conducted with the collaboration of the Extension division of the Department of Agriculture (DOA), Peradeniya, including the allocation of potential resource persons for training sessions. All sessions are to be organized as residential (03 days) intensive, multi-session and multi-activity group learning sessions that use lectures, group discussions, demonstrations of practical activities, videos, and other audio-visual resources as well as entertainment activities (drams and role play), etc.

The fifth o training programme is being conducted presently at the FFS with the participation of 18 lead farmers including 05 women from the Thunukkai Agrarian Service Centre area in Mullaitivu Districts.  Apart from the in-house lectures delivered, farmers were given hands-on experience in the field by subject specialists.

Dr. T. Karunainathan, Deputy Director (Research), Dr. M.S. Najiamudeen, Principal Agriculture Scientist at  Field Crops Research and Development Institute (FSRDI) in Mahailluppallama delivered lectures and provided participants with hand on experience in both cultivation and irrigation areas.  Mr. Farnk Jayasinghe, CSA Specialist (PMU), Mr. W.K..P.C Perera, Agri-Business & Market Linkage Specialist, Mr. Samantha Mallawaarachchi, IEC & ICT Specialist, Ms. Sharmila Shanmuganathan, Gender Development Officer of the CSIAP also delivered lectures in their subject areas at FFS.

Four Tanks renovated in NWP at a cost of Rs 13.42M declared open by the CSIAP

 Four tanks such as Galatabedi wewa, Katupitigama wewa, Kumbukgete wewa, and Ambagaha wewa located in the Ambanpola Agricultural Service Center area in Kurunegala District renovated at a cost of Rs 13.42 million by the Deputy Project Director’s Office of the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) in North Western Province (NWP) were declared open recently and handed over to farmers to use for agricultural activities. 164 farming families living in the area will be benefited from these four tanks

The Provincial Office of the CSIAP in NWP has already started renovating 141 tanks in the provinces investing Rs 1661 million to boost the agricultural economy which leads to improving the livelihood of the farming community in the project area. As the chief guest, the Provincial Secretary of Agriculture Mr. D. M .K. Chandana  Dissanayake unveiled plaques of tanks and poured pots of milk into tanks to mark the opening.  Deputy Project Director of CSIAP in NWP Mr. W.M.S Wijesinghe opened sluice gates and handed certificates of completing the renovation of tanks to farm organizations. Invitees to the event planted trees and a traditional ceremony was also held to bless the cultivation and farming community too.

The Divisional Secretary in Ambanpola Mrs. H.M.C.J. Herath, Director of the Provincial Department of Agriculture Mr. P. Sisira Kumara, Director of Provincial Irrigation Mr. W. Kamalsiri, around fifty government officers representing provincial departments,  over 120 farmers, Deputy Project Director of CSIAP in NWP Mr. W.M.S Wijesinghe and his staff attended this programme.

Story and Photographs by Chamara Basnayake (Agriculture Facilitator), Rajanganaya ASC, NWP

A first-ever Vegetable Shop in NWP to sell the surplus organic home garden harvest

The Deputy Project Director’s Office of the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) in North Western Province (NWP) encourages farmers to run Vegetable Shops to sell their surplus organic home garden harvest to consumers to earn extra income.  The CSIAP promotes Organic Home Gardening which means gardening without using synthetic products like fertilizers and pesticides. It involves the use of only natural products to grow plants in home gardens. Organic gardening replenishes natural resources as it uses them. Around 16762 Climate Smart Home Gardens have already been started by the CSIAP Office in NWP and the provincial office has planned to invest Rs 1.6M to inaugurate 36 vegetable shops across the province to support farmers. Eggs (backyard poultry) and value-added products such as  Turmeric  powder and Chili powder will be sold by these shops too.

Vegetable shops are a fundamental part of the rural interface and this will give the opportunity to consumers to purchase fresh vegetables, specially produced directly from Home Gardens. Vegetable Shops allow consumers to have access to locally grown, fresh produce and enable farmers to develop personal relationships with their customers. The first vegetable shop belongs to Mrs. K.M. Indrani Kusumalatha in Vadurassa village located in the Ambanpola Agrarian Service Center area in Kurunegala district was declared open recently under the patronage of the Provincial Secretary of Agriculture Mr. D.M.K. Chandana Dissanayake and the Divisional Secretary in Ambanpola Mrs. H.M.C.J. Herath.

Director of the Provincial Department of Agriculture Mr. P. Sisira Kumara, Director of Provincial Irrigation Mr. W. Kamalsiri, around forty government officers representing provincial departments,  over 120 farmers, Deputy Project Director of CSIAP in NWP Mr. W.M.S Wijesinghe and his staff were present in this event.

Story and Photographs by Chamara Basnayake (Agriculture Facilitator), Rajanganaya ASC, NWP

The CSIAP establishes CMCs to enhance the living standards and the environment

Strengthening the institutional framework in the cascade is identified as one of the key requirements for managing the cascade system. Therefore, Cascade Management Committees (CMCs) are to be formed, consisting of the farmer Organizations and local level officials for resources (water and land) management at the cascade level. The overall objective of the CMC is to restore and improve the watershed system through integrated management and manage water and associated natural resources in a sustainable manner to enhance the living standards of rural communities.

The Deputy Project Director’s Office of the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) in Southern took initiative to establish CMCs in the province and awareness of CMCs was held at the Divisional Secretariat’s Auditorium in Tissamaharama recently.  The CSIAP will establish 30 CMCs in North Western, 12 CMCs in North Central, 10 CMCs in Northern, 12 CMCs in Eastern, 07 in Southern and 09 CMS in Uva provinces respectively.

At this meeting presided over by the District Secretary in Hambantota Mr P.H Sumanasekara, former Head of the Water Management Division at the Department of Agrarian Development and retired Chief Engineer Prabath Vithana delivered a special lecture on the importance of the cascade system, social, and economic and environmental aspects of the cascade. Institutional Development and Capacity Building Specialist and acting Deputy Project Director of the Project Management Unit (PMU), CSIAP, Mr. D.V. Bandulasena explained the formation process of CMCs, its duties and responsibilities of it. Heads of Line Agencies agreed to nominate their representatives for each CMC too. and heads of line agencies and field officers including 120 participants attended this event.

Story by R.P.M. Dissanayake (Institutional Development & Capacity Building Specialist), SP, CSIAP

Over 9973 Home Gardens in UP enhance household food security and well-being

Home gardens give more benefits to CSIAP farmers. It can be categorized into social, economic and environmental benefits. The most fundamental social benefit of home gardens stems from their direct contributions to household food security by increasing the availability, accessibility and utilization of food products.  Home gardens established have been maintained for easy access to fresh vegetables and fruits at the Grama Niladhari Division level where the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) is being implemented.  Food items from home gardens add substantially to the family's energy and nutritive requirements on a continuous basis. The CSIAP is planning to provide and
encourage farmers to  raise egg-laying poultry birds for egg production too.

The Deputy Project Director’s Office (DPDO) of the CSIAP in Uva Province forms around 9973 home gardens in the Agrarian Serve Center area of Buttala. Grow bags, seeds and plants were already given to farmers to implement home garden programmes in the area. The officials of DPDO visited  14 home gardens to see their progress with Agriculture Instructor (Kukurampola  Range) Mr. R.M.P.Ramanayake recently. Instructions were given to framers to improve  their home gardens further by Mr. Ramanayake

Story and Photographs by R. Dushyanthan (Agriculture Facilitator), Buththala ASC, UP