Energising Agriculture: Unlocking the Potential of Agricultural Land

Summary

Dr Roshan Rajadurai presents agricultural land as a critical but underperforming national asset. Agriculture supports roughly a quarter of Sri Lanka’s employment while contributing only around 7–8% of GDP, reflecting low productivity, fragmented holdings, weak tenure and a predominantly informal workforce. The sector is further constrained by inconsistent policy, overlapping institutions, complex land administration, inadequate research and extension, weak infrastructure and limited technology adoption.

The presentation proposes a coordinated reform programme built around a national land policy, a central digital land inventory, clearer and more secure tenure, consolidation of uneconomic smallholdings and the release of suitable state land for commercial agriculture. It also calls for science-based policymaking, stronger research and extension, investment in mechanisation and value addition, improved market information and infrastructure, and greater private and external investment. These reforms should be paired with climate resilience, crop insurance and stronger social protection for agricultural communities.

Key Points

• Agriculture employs about a quarter of Sri Lanka’s workforce but produces only a small share of national output.
• Fragmented plots, insecure tenure and extensive state ownership prevent land from reaching its most productive uses.
• Multiple agencies, overlapping laws and inconsistent interventions make agricultural investment difficult and uncertain.
• A national land policy and digital land inventory are needed to clarify ownership, suitability and permitted use.
• Commercial scale, mechanisation, research, extension and value addition are essential for raising productivity and incomes.
• Agricultural reform should also strengthen climate resilience, risk protection and the dignity and security of agricultural work.