Sri Lanka, the World Bank Group and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have launched the Sri Lanka AgriConnect Joint Implementation Plan, which aims to help 900,000 farmers reach agricultural value chains by 2030.
The plan is backed by $550 million in World Bank Group investment and $115 million from IFAD, together $665 million. The partners also aim to mobilise up to $170 million in private capital over the next five years.
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said the plan would support government action under the Public Investment Programme 2026-2030 by connecting farmers to finance, technology and markets while creating jobs and attracting private investment.
Sri Lanka is the first country in South Asia to join AgriConnect. The plan will focus on coconut, cinnamon, tea and fisheries, as well as dairy, poultry, aquaculture and horticulture. It also aims to widen economic opportunities in lagging regions, including the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
The plan will cover agriculture finance, digital agriculture and agricultural technology, cold chains, connectivity, climate-resilient irrigation, skills and research. It will also coordinate government, development partners and the private sector to deal with policy barriers and financing constraints.
Sarvesh Suri, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific, said the priority was to connect farmers and agribusinesses with the finance, technology and markets they need to grow.
Background
Implementation has already started through the Integrated Rurban Development and Climate Resilience Project, which is financed by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessional lending arm. The project links commercially viable businesses led by smallholder farmers to better financing and markets.
The IFC, the World Bank Group’s private-sector arm, is separately supporting the competitiveness and export potential of the cinnamon and coconut industries. It is also widening access to finance for agribusinesses through direct investments and risk-sharing facilities with financial institutions.
What it means
Agriculture and food processing account for at least 15 percent of Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product, 30 percent of goods exports and one in three jobs, according to the partners. Farmers, fishers and agribusinesses in the listed sectors are the people most likely to see the plan’s effects.
Donal Brown, IFAD’s Associate Vice-President for country operations, said the aim is to channel capital into rural areas, generate jobs and build resilience against future shocks. Rural communities in the Northern and Eastern Provinces are named as a particular focus.
