Hayleys and USAID to revitalise farming in East and Uva

Sri Lanka's Hayleys Group will partner the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in a ground-breaking pilot project to revive and advance the potential for linking farmers in two poorer districts to commercial agriculture, the two organisations said this week.

The six-month pilot project commencing April 1 will benefit 120 farmer families in the districts of Ampara and Moneragala through the introduction of the latest knowledge, techniques and inputs for the cultivation of three cash crops of high revenue potential, gherkins, pineapples and jalapeno peppers on 50 acres of land that have either lain fallow or been previously used for subsistence farming.

The objective of the project is to motivate farmers in these areas, some of which have been affected by conflict, to embrace modern agricultural practices and to empower them to substantially improve their incomes from agriculture by switching to cash crops that are in demand.