The meeting reviewed the progress of the CSIAP’s implementation across the 11 participating districts, with particular attention to:
- Status of physical and financial progress of civil works and mechanization initiatives
- Performance of the project's agriculture productivity and climate resilience interventions
- Challenges faced by provincial teams and proposed mitigation strategies
- Plans for the upcoming Maha season and strategic investments for sustainable outcomes
The Steering Committee emphasized the importance of inter-agency coordination, timely fund disbursement, and the strengthening of institutional capacity at the provincial level to ensure the smooth implementation and sustainability of CSIAP initiatives.
Also
in attendance were:
Ms.
Latheesha Liyanage, Additional Secretary and Ms.
Anuradha Dharmasena, Director (Development), MALLI, Eng. Ajith Gunasekara, Director
General, Department of Irrigation. Ms.
M.B.P.K. Tennakoon, Director, Department of Project Management and Monitoring, the Treasury and Mr. Saman Bandulasena,
Project Director of CSIAP, who led the project team at the meeting. Senior
government officials, including Chief Secretaries of several provinces,
Provincial Directors of Agriculture, Irrigation Engineers, representatives
from implementing agencies, and Deputy Project Directors of the CSIAP participated
remotely via video conferencing.
The meeting concluded with the Secretary’s remarks encouraging continued collaboration between the central and provincial stakeholders, reinforcing the Ministry's commitment to modernising and climate-proofing Sri Lanka’s irrigated agriculture sector through the CSIAP framework.
Photograph by Gayani Dassanayake, PMU-CSIAP
