Climate-Smart Agriculture in Cascade Minor Irrigation System: Status, Scope and Challenges in Sri Lanka: A Case from Puttlam District

Abstract

This paper discloses the status, scope, and challenges in familiarizing the climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices to the cascades or terraced tank clusters in the Puttalam district in the Dry Zone (DZ) of Sri Lanka. As a tropical country, Sri Lanka faces many challenges reducing the gap of trade balance in the economy. Reducing food imports can be considered as one of the solutions. Consequently, Sri Lanka is paying high attention to introduce the CSA practices for the DZ while identifying the most productive interventions. Karuwalagaswewa DSD of Puttalam district is one of the driest DSDs in the DZ of Sri Lanka and it has been recognized as a hotspot area to improve the agricultural livelihoods of the farming community residing in the highly vulnerable areas of the DZ. The secondary data of the study have been abstracted from the district and DSD level reports while selected PRA tools, FGDs, participatory map, seasonal calendar, Metrix rankings, and survey methods have been applied for collecting the primary data from Neliwewa, Ihala Ralapanawa, and Rambawewa Terraced Tanks Clusters in the DSD. The study discloses that current agricultural practices of Puttalam district are mostly traditional and there is a high probability to introduce the CSA practices. The major challenge of introducing the modern CSA is intragenerational and intergenerational attitudinal conflict and lack of scientific understandings of modern technologies in CSA. A systematic participatory approach is essential to sustain the CSA practices.