Farmer Performance in a Rice-Based Farming System: Differences Between New and Old Systems

Abstract

We investigated farmers' performance in an area under a large irrigation project in the southern dry zone of Sri Lanka. The farming system is based on rice cultivation during the wet (maha) and dry (yala) seasons. The irrigation project concentrated on developing the existing fanning system and developing new land for cultivation. A network of irrigation channels was constructed in the newly developed area and institutional support for inputs was provided.