By the time Sri Lanka attained independence, agriculture was centered on the estate plantation economy and traditional agriculture had deteriorated. Subsequently, all ruling governments which came into power solely focused on developing irrigation in a bid to revive domestic agriculture. However, they were incapable of prioritizing much needed science, technology and research essential for agriculture innovations. This resulted in the agriculture sector having to face a myriad of conflicts.

32% of total employment of the country is generated through agriculture related services, making ‘agriculture’ the main livelihood of rural communities. Therefore, in order to develop rural economies, it is of utmost importance that the agriculture sector is developed. Environmental, natural disasters, production and trade related challenges associated with land consumption has vastly affected the development of the agriculture sector. These challenges have strongly contributed to the collapse of the agriculture sector in Sri Lanka.

In order to rebuild a modernized agriculture sector, it is imperative to establish an ‘agriculture industry’ in Sri Lanka, through a streamlined process which ensures the protection of the environment, accommodating innovations addressing market and entrepreneurial conditions, corresponding to environmental, geographical and climatic circumstances based science, technology and research.
Although nestled in an arid dessert, today, with proper water management coupled with innovations stemming through science and technology, Israel claims ownership to an exceptional export based agriculture industry.

Therefore, the Israel Sri Lanka Cooperation Association envisages facilitating the formation of the much-needed foundation required to develop the agriculture sector of Sri Lanka by transmitting technical and research know how which contributed to reaching new heights in agriculture in Israel, to Sri Lanka.