US$125M World Bank Loan to Develop Agriculture in SL

Sri Lanka has signed a US$125 million loan with the World Bank to modernize the agriculture sector.

The World Bank said,  the loan provides investments to improve productivity and diversify production patterns through modern agriculture technology demonstrations in key areas and supports new institutional arrangements through farmer organizations and farmer-agribusiness partnerships. Further,  the project will support value chain development to promote commercial and export-oriented agriculture, with focus on higher value agriculture products, such as fruits and vegetables.

It will also support agricultural policy development to help the government determine the sector’s future direction. Sri Lanka aims to make the sector more efficient and attractive as a modern business, more responsive to consumer demand, and more environmentally sustainable and resilient to climate change.

The World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives and the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance signed the project on behalf of the World Bank and the government.