Assessment of Productivity and Income Generation from Rural Agricultural Systems in the Mid-country Wet Zone of Sri Lanka - A Case Study

Abstract

Majority of the rural population in the wet mid elevations in Sri Lanka are predominantly engaged in Kandyan Homegardening (KHG) and smallholder tea cultivations (TS). Reports indicate that recent developments in this region are very low due to marketing, extension and production issues. The study was conducted to evaluate the recent changes in the agricultural productivity and other socio economic parameters of the households in a selected village belonging to Yatinuwara Divisional Secretariat in 2017. Information on social and family status, agricultural systems and income generation of a sample households (65%) were collected using a structured questionnaire. Results revealed that there was a trend of leaving agriculture by the young generation, resulting in just a 58.4% of the males (predominantly middle aged and old) for agriculture, mostly on part-time basis. Low percentage of women involvement in agricultural livelihoods clearly indicated their potential engagements in agricultural livelihoods in the future, bringing about a good solution for their unemployment issue. Nearly 76% families were engaged with KHGs whereas 36% and 7% were involved in TS and other cropping systems, respectively. The livestock sector was very much at a diminishing phase, limiting only to 7.8% of the households. The highest annual income was recorded by the TS, compared to KHG farmers. This could be justified with lower productivity of KHGs (compared to potential productivity of its major crop components). Majority of the households (38.2%) belongs to the lowest annual income category of less than Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR.) 50,000 (from agriculture). Hence a boost in agriculture will be an urgent need for improving the financial status and the living standards of the villagers. The outcome of the survey will be an eye-opening for policy makers and the institutional setup that are mandated for rural development in Sri Lanka.