The World Bank MD and high level delegation visit the first ever FTS at Thirappane

World Bank Managing Director for Operations Ms. Anna Bjerde and Regional Vice-President South Asia Dr. Martin Raiser with the delegation from the World Bank, Asia Development Bank, JICA and USAID visited the Climate Smart Farmer Training School (FTS) in Thirappane yesterday (29th). The FTS was established for framer leaders by the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP).  The purpose of their visit was to observe how the  FTS  is running to promote Climate Smart Agriculture and assess the progress of the CSIAP. This Farmer Training School will play a pivotal role in training and equipping farmers with hands-on experience in Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices and cutting-edge agricultural technologies. According to the World Bank, the FTS at Thirappane is the first school established in South Asia to promote climate-smart agriculture.

The CSIAP Project Director Eng. R.M.B. Rajakaruna welcomed distinguished guests and presented the progress achieved so far and how the CSIAP moves forward to meet project objectives. Addressing the audience Ms. Bjerde Said the significance of a school for farmers in the region, focusing on climate-smart agriculture. She highlighted the changing weather patterns caused by climate change and how this school is equipping farmers with techniques to enhance productivity and resilience in crop production. She also mentioned three major benefits of this project: the transition to renewable energy, particularly solar power; increased and stable livelihoods, enabling children to access education, including higher education; and diversified and sustainable crop yields, ensuring better nutrition. She expressed pride in the World Bank’s support for this project and emphasised the need for more initiatives like this to address the challenges posed by climate change, both through mitigation and adaptation efforts. She hoped that the project could be sustained by building on the lessons and experiences demonstrating the positive impact on changing the lives and livelihoods of farmer communities.

Farmers who had undergone the three-day residential training programme on  Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture at the Farmer Training School received certificates during this event. Among those who attended the event were Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, State Minister of Finance Hon. Shehan Semasinghe, Former Minister Hon. Duminda Dissanayake, Asian Development Bank Country Director  Mr. Takafumi Kadono, World Bank Country Director for Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka Mr. Faris Hadad – Zervos, Country Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Ms. Chiyo Kanda, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Ms. Anjali Kaur, JICA Senior Vice President Ms. Sachiko Imoto, Mr. Janaka Dharmakeerthi, Secretary and Ms. Latheesha Liyanage, Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Agriculture, officials of implementing agencies and CSIAP.