USAID project sets examples

USAID funded Connecting Regional Economies (CORE) conducted its project close-out seminar under the patronage of the Economic Development Minister, Basil Rajapaksa recently.

The seminar highlighted the many successes and issues faced by the beneficiaries across the Eastern Province where USAID/CORE was involved in. This was jointly organized by the Ministry of Economic Development and the USAID/CORE project team. USAID Mission Director in Sri Lanka James Bedner welcomed the participants indicating the importance of sharing individual experiences and lessons learned during the past two years. The project, launched in 2009, has helped increase the incomes of 14,000 families in the Eastern Province, Monaragala and Anuradhapura districts.

A lot of youth found employment by providing job oriented skills development opportunities. It was revealed that a total investment of over Rs 500 m was spent in the East covering a range of activities including fisheries, dairy, agriculture and tourism related projects.

Additionally, the World Bank committed US$ 6 million to develop a concept called Warehouse Receipt Financing that empowers farmers to decide the sale of their produce bypassing the current roadblocks caused by middlemen.