The Sri Lanka Agripreneurs’ Forum (SLAF) places modernised agriculture at the forefront of improving food security in Sri Lanka.
The SLAF believes that only through the improvement of the sector through providing access to knowledge on scientific growing practices and technology, markets, and finance, can Sri Lankans mitigate the danger of food insecurity and avert such unfortunate situations in the future.
As a part of this objective, SLAF has identified the importance of expanding protected agriculture as one such potential contributor to elevated national agri-output.
To promote protected agriculture in Sri Lanka and educate protected agriculture growers on the new technologies and scientific growing methods and provide access to sustainable markets for higher profits, the SLAF partnered with HNB, Unipower, and CIC. Through this collaborative effort, a series of workshops are to be conducted for agripreneurs on protected agriculture, and the first workshop was held at the HNB Towers, Colombo 10 in December.
A second free full-day workshop for the agripreneurs from the hill-country region was held on January 27 at the Inservice Centre, Gannoruwa, Peradeniya.
The workshop covered areas such as how to construct a polytunnel scientifically, selection of seeds for polytunnel cultivation, effective ways of controlling pests and diseases in polytunnels, plant nutrient management for tunnel crops, and cultivation based on market demand. It was followed by a problem-solving session and panel discussion to address key issues brought out by the audience.