Saturday Sep 06, 2025
Saturday Sep 06, 2025
Thursday, 21 August 2025 04:50 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Vavunathivu harvest ceremony highlights
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon recently participated in a vibrant harvest ceremony in Vavunathivu in Batticaloa, celebrating the latest success in the bank’s Agri Modernisation Village program, an initiative that seeks to empower farmers to adopt transformative modern agricultural technology and practices.
This village-by-village mission aims to bridge traditional knowledge and modern agricultural technology, helping farmers increase productivity, improve sustainability, and strengthen their economic resilience. Guided by academic and agricultural experts, the program equips farmers with advanced techniques such as sustainable irrigation, transplanting machinery, and climate-resilient crop varieties; promotes resource efficiency and environmentally responsible practices; and strengthens SME participation in the agricultural value chain.
By fostering collaboration, improving productivity, and promoting sustainable practices, the initiative supports rural livelihoods, strengthens food security, and inspires the next generation to view agriculture as a viable and rewarding profession.
The Vavunathivu event, titled ‘Potkathir,’ began with a procession to the fields accompanied by traditional Tamil cultural performances, followed by offerings to the gods, ceremonial harvesting by distinguished guests, and demonstrations of modern harvesting techniques introduced through the program.
The ceremony also featured displays of agricultural machinery and equipment, and included two significant contributions from the Bank to the Faculty of Agriculture at the Eastern University: a solar-powered water pump system with micro-irrigation facilities donated in partnership with Hayleys Solar, and an in-kind contribution to reinstate the fertigation system of the Faculty’s greenhouse.
Among the eminent guests at the event were Commercial Bank Chief Operating Officer S. Prabagar, Deputy General Manager – Personal Banking S. Ganeshan, Additional Government Agent of Batticaloa N. Muhunthan, Eastern University Faculty of Agriculture Dean Prof. P. Punitha, and Department of Agriculture, Batticaloa Deputy Director M. Parameshwaran.
The Vavunathivu project is the second phase of Commercial Bank’s Agri Modernisation Village program, launched last year in Kilinochchi in collaboration with the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Jaffna. The Batticaloa expansion was initiated at the request of the Eastern University and implemented with the support of the Government Agent of Batticaloa, the Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture, the Dean and lecturers of the Faculty of Agriculture – Eastern University, and a group of progressive farmers.
