Agri Minister visits SADP

Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, visited homes in Weligama, Jayawickramapura in the Southern Province under the Sustainable Agricultural Development Project (SADP) recently, noting the progress in both livelihood and quality of life among families enrolled in the programme.

SADP is a unique programme under 'Outreach Projects (Guarantee) Limited', the CSR arm of Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC, designed to empower rural villagers living below the poverty line in Sri Lanka. Working on the philosophy of "helping those who are willing to help themselves", some of the salient features of SADP are voluntary registration, no cash handouts and the increment of input based on the commitment of the beneficiaries to rise above poverty.

Speaking on the project, Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said, "Agriculture has always been a major economic force in Sri Lanka, making a significant contribution to our economy, national food security and employment. At the same time, agriculture is the livelihood of the majority in the rural sector and plays a key role in alleviating rural poverty. Sustainable Agriculture programmes such as SADP strengthen nation building and rural economic development efforts. Seeing the vast improvements in the lives of SADP beneficiaries is truly encouraging."

The produce from their home gardens have improved a family's overall daily nutritional intake with significant increases in protein, vitamin, calcium and iron intake.

Once families successfully complete these stages and reach self-sustenance, they graduate from the programme. Post-graduation SADP officers continue to visit families to ensure the continuity of their agriculture learning and practices. No cash hand-outs are given to the families under any stage.

This project is independently appraised on a regular basis by the global accounting house Ernst & Young chartered accountants as part of good corporate governance ethic.

SADP PLUS focuses specifically on the Trincomalee and Kilinochchi Districts where farmers are from previously war-affected areas and have access to more land than their SADP counterparts in the south. Therefore, in addition to the programme's home gardening practices, cash crops such as Maize and Ground Nuts are introduced to them.