Leadership and Team Building Programmes commenced for District Level Officers

Two Out Bound Training Programmes on Leadership and Team building for Agriculture Development Officers, Agriculture Instructors, Agriculture Technical Assistants, Technical Officers, Draftsman, Soil Tester, Work Supervisors and Development Officers from Department of Agrarian Development, Provincial Department of Agriculture and Department of Irrigation was organized by Deputy Project Director’s Office of the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP ) at Ree-Cha Organic Resort, Iyakkachchi, Kilinochchi recently.

These programmes, in which even the project staff participated, consisted of  Orientation & Introduction; (45 Minutes), Characteristics of Leadership concepts (01 hour), Out Bounce Activities: (05 hours & 30 minutes) and Summary, feedback from participants & Closing remarks: (30 minutes). Inaugurating the event as a Chief Guest, Mr. A. G. C. Babu, Deputy Project Director, CSIAP-Northern Province expressed the CSIAP project interventions and crucial roles of the participants & purpose of the Training programme.  Mr. S. Nilojan, Acting Institutional Development & Capacity Building Specialist, CSIAP- Northern province explained the goal of these programmes, guidelines and basic instructions.  

Conducting these training programmes, Mr. B. Sribavan, Humen Recourse Development Officer, District Secretariat - Jaffna discussed the theme of the training programme, course content and major outcome of the programme and presented Leadership & Teambuilding concepts, Types of leadership, Importance of leadership, Skills and  Characteristics of Leaders while Mr. S. Kalatharan, Development Officer, Pradeshiya Sabha – Nallur, facilitated the session with brainstorming activities. During these programmes, participants were fully engaged in the “Team Up” activity and learned how to organize a team properly. Participants were involved in different learning activities such as Cane balancing with the floor, Ball passing among team members, Human tunnel, Tower building, Hula Hoop Activity, Risk zone recovery, Number training and Rope chain training, etc. Later, they have an opportunity to gain knowledge on  Communication (Non- Verbal, Non- Violence), Collaboration, Critical thinking, Creativity, Initiative, Decision making, Out of box thinking, Flexibility, Productivity, Self Confidence, Self-evaluation, Resource management and  Skill identification etc.  

The WB discusses the way forward in proposed activities for next 18th month

The World Bank Officials visited the Project Management Unit of the Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) this morning (14th) to discuss the way forward in proposed activities during the period of project extension from July 2024 to December 2025.

Representing the World Bank, Senior Agriculture Specialist Dr. Athula Senarathne, Consultant Mr. S. Manoharan and Consultant Mr. Sarath Wickramarathne attended this meeting. Eng. R. M. B. Rajakaruna, Project Director led the CSIAP team with Mr. R. P.M. Dissanayake, Deputy Project Director- Southern Province and subject-related specialists of the PM. Deputy Project Directors of North Western, North Central, Eastern, Northern and Uva provincial offices of the CSIAP joined the meeting via Webex.

The areas of focus would include:
CSA program
a. Agronomic improvements to be scaled up
b. New developments of farmer training school(s)
c. Proposed CSA Center at the MOAPI

Agribusiness and value chain development program
a. Brainstorming discussion on agribusiness and value chain development activities for identifying an innovative program
b. Possibility of getting international expert support

2. Institutional development and capacity building program
a. Next steps of CMP development and implementation
b. Progress of issuing a public administration circular and cabinet paper on CMCs
c. Workshops and awareness programs - Implementing Street dramas, organization of a workshop for DSs, National workshop for heads of institutions

3. Integrated water management in cascade systems and strengthening Fos
a. Prepare a combined training program by Water Resource Management and ID&CB teams and with the support of the other relevant PMU staff and government officers to strengthen the capacity of the FOs.

4. Digital agriculture developments and MIS
a. Next steps of MIS development
b. Utilization of MIS effectively for monitoring and project impact evaluation
c. Other areas of digital development

5. Other relevant matters
a. Amalgamation of Uva and Southern Province and organization of project activities in these provinces during the extension period; recruitment of vacant staff positions

This discussion is a continuation of the dialogue the World Bank started on actions agreed during the recent implementation support mission and the subsequent meeting the World Bank had with the CSIAP’s staff on the allocation of funds for respective project components.

Photograph by Nikeshala Kodithuwakku, PMU, CSIAP 

The CSIAP Leads the Initiative to Develop Zonal Land Use Plans for 60 Cascades

The Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP), which implements its activities through a cascade management approach, has established 54 Cascade Management Committees (CMCs) across its project areas, with another six to be formed soon. These committees develop Cascade Management Plans (CMPs) to guide the protection and development of cascades, including detailed cascade profiles and development plans. Recognizing the importance of land suitability, the Department of Land Use Policy Planning (LUPPD) agreed to prepare Zonal Land Use Plans for 60 cascades under the project. As a first step, a two-day workshop was recently held at the Four Points Resort, Anuradhapura, with 65 officers from both CSIAP and LUPPD participating to discuss and finalize guidelines for preparing these plans.

The workshop included detailed sessions on the historical significance of Sri Lanka’s tank cascade systems, the roles of CMCs, and the process of preparing CMPs. Participants engaged in group work to finalize the Zonal Land Use Plan guidelines. The second day featured a field visit to the Meehondawewa cascade, where participants, guided by an expert, identified various components and degradation issues caused by human and natural activities. The workshop was considered highly successful and is expected to equip participants with the knowledge and tools needed to implement cascade management effectively across the project districts. 

 By Upali Rathnayake, Institutional & Capacity Building Specialist, NCP, CSIAP