Sri Lankan government to promote smallholder agribusiness partnerships through Public Private Producer Partnerships
Secretary to the President of Sri Lanka, Austin Fernando has reportedly said the government will promote smallholder agribusiness partnerships (SAP) in line with its Vision 2025.
Fernando has made this observation while speaking as the Chief Guest at an international knowledge-sharing conference titled ‘Innovative Models for Inclusive and Sustainable Agribusiness Development through Public Private Producer Partnerships (4Ps)’ held in Colombo recently.
The conference was hosted by the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka, through its National Agribusiness Development Programme (NADeP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), together with the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS).
According to reports, Fernando has said the bulk of the poor in Sri Lanka was rural-based and depended on agriculture. Therefore, pro-poor economic progress could not be achieved by ignoring the agricultural sector.
IPS research has shown that about 70% of Sri Lanka’s poor live in rural areas and more than 40% of the poor are reliant on the agricultural sector for their livelihoods.
Austin has further noted that Sri Lanka had the right enabling policy environment to achieve more inclusive and sustainable agribusiness development.
However, IPS research has shown that Sri Lanka is yet to strengthen the rural smallholder agriculture-led economy for reducing inequality, eliminating poverty and ensuring food security and the rural livelihoods of farmers were further threatened in the rapidly changing global context.
Meanwhile, Guest of Honour at the event, IFAD General Counsel, Katherine Meighan has noted the importance of the partnership between the Sri Lankan Government and IFAD in securing rural livelihoods and the agricultural sector of the island.
It has also been highlighted at the event that the Public Private Producer Partnership (4P) model has been successful in mitigating and addressing these challenges since its inception.
OSL take:
The Sri Lankan government’s decision to push for Public Private Producer Partnership to promote smallholder agribusinesses while result in the further growth of the agriculture sector in the country, it would also pave the way for new investment opportunities as well as partnerships in the agri business sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/06042018/Z_3 |