Developing institutional synergies for effective urban agriculture development in Sri Lanka

Agricultural development towards food, nutrition and livelihood security is high on the political agenda in Sri Lanka. A number of national programmes (e.g. Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu 2007-2010 and Divi Neguma) have focussed on achieving greater self-sufficiency at household level in order to reach a higher GDP in the agricultural sector with higher economic returns. Recently, national priorities have included the development of food-secure resilient cities, and in this regard, the Western Province has been a forerunner, having commenced its urban agriculture campaign already in 2000.