A man smiling and kneeling amongst green crops.

A New Spin on an Old Crop .

February 9, 2017

Farmers in Sri Lanka are using new techniques to revive chili production and promote economic and financial stability in the Anuradhapura District.

In 2007, R.M. Mohanlal walked through the doors of the Sri Lankan Department of Agriculture (DOA) to purchase chili seeds. Despite its history as a traditional crop in Sri Lanka, fewer and fewer local farmers were growing chili. Mr. Mohanlal’s village, Milagoda, located in the Anuradhapura District, was once a central chili production area. Unfortunately, imported chili was driving the price of Sri Lankan chili down. In addition, high production costs were steering many farmers away from the crop.

“The cost of chili cultivation is so unbearable,” said D.M.K. Nadeesara, another farmer in the Anuradhapura District. “We have to spend on seed, fertilizer, pesticide, labor, and when there is no rain or Kerosene for the water pump.”

Undeterred by these challenges, Mr. Mohanlal visited the DOA to purchase chili seeds. He learned that he could only purchase seeds if he sold them back to the DOA, but they were willing to offer him a reasonable price.

“They agreed to pay me LKR 285 per kilo of seeds at a time when I was selling seeds for LKR 70 per kilo,” he explained.

With the support of a few other farmers in the district and as part of an agreement with the government, Mr. Mohanlal sold around 2,500 kilograms of seeds back to the DOA. Soon after, in 2009, the DOA launched a chili seed production initiative to address the lack of quality chili seeds in the Anuradhapura District. The initiative started with 20 farmers in Milagoda and soon expanded to neighboring villages.

To further support the initiative, USAID’s Supporting Opportunities for Livelihoods Development (SOLID) activity — under the Asia and Middle East Economic Growth Best Practices project — began working with chili growers. The project introduced new technology to reduce cultivation costs, making production more profitable and supporting the expansion of the DOA’s initiative. By 2015, Mr. Mohanlal became one of the project’s many beneficiaries.

Through this effort, 166 farmers learned new farming methods and adopted innovative technologies to improve their productivity and reduce the cost of chili cultivation. The DOA and SOLID worked together to provide needed services: The DOA provided extension support and a chili seed market, and the project trained farmers and distributed tools. By providing extension support, the DOA taught farmers new techniques and best practices based on the latest agricultural research. This collaboration between project staff, farmers, and the DOA became known as the “Chili Village.”

Two cultivation techniques that farmers learned involved polybags and sprinkler irrigation systems. Through polybag cultivation, individual chili plants are placed into separate bags. This provides plants with a safe, disease-free environment in which to grow. The polybags also make it possible to grow chilies in the off-season because the contained environment protects the plants from natural elements.

“Now there is no water depositing in particular areas of the plant. Every plant is watered equally. The sprinklers also help to wash away the insects and dew that collects on the leaves of the plant. This has reduced disease outbreaks, and we spend less on pesticide. The most important thing I learned from this experience is that I can increase my income by using technology.”

Thushari Wedisinghe, Farmer in the Anuradhapura District

“The cost of chili cultivation is so unbearable. We have to spend on seed, fertilizer, pesticide, labor, and when there is no rain or Kerosene for the water pump.”

D.M.K. Nadeesara, Farmer in the Anuradhapura District

Farmers also learned how to use sprinkler irrigation systems to reduce water use and labor. This method replaces a more traditional watering approach known as flood irrigation. Through flood irrigation, farmers simply flooded their fields to water them, sometimes wasting water and damaging plants in the process. The process was also time- and labor-intensive because it typically required two people and could take up to three hours to water just one-half acre of land.

In contrast, sprinklers are gentler, less wasteful, and still wash away pests that often plague chili plants. A simple turn of a tap takes care of the watering. As a result, farmers do not need to be as involved in watering their plants, and can focus on growing other crops in addition to chilies.

“Now there is no water depositing in particular areas of the plant. Every plant is watered equally,” reflected Thushari Wedisinghe, another farmer from the Anuradhapura District. “The sprinklers also help to wash away the insects and dew that collects on the leaves of the plant. This has reduced disease outbreaks, and we spend less on pesticide. The most important thing I learned from this experience is that I can increase my income by using technology.”

166

farmers learned new chili cultivation methods and adopted innovative technologies to improve their productivity

Prior to the intervention, Ms. Wedisinghe generated an income of around LKR 150,000, and sometimes as low as LKR 60,000 per season. After the first season of implementing these changes, however, she increased her income to LKR 185,000.

Overall, these new techniques and tools have helped farmers improve their incomes and financial stability, and increase the Anuradhapura District’s economic potential.

“[Before the intervention] my farming income was just enough to survive,” Ms. Wedisinghe said. “Now I have enough to live and to save.”