Saturday May 23, 2026
Saturday May 23, 2026
Saturday, 23 May 2026 05:18 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka’s smallholder tea sector received a major digital and knowledge-sharing boost with the official handover of new “Regenerative Agriculture Digital Resource Centres” to the Tea Smallholdings Development Authority at a ceremony held on 20 May at the Ratnasiri Wickramanayake National Training Centre.
The initiative, launched in conjunction with the 6th Asian Tea Alliance, was aimed at accelerating the modernisation of the small tea estate sector through regenerative agriculture practices, digital learning, and faster dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge.
The digital resource centres were established with full financial and technical support from international organisations Solidaridad and Nucleus Foundation.
The centres are based at the Hanthana Training Centre, the authority’s head office, and its regional office in Walahanduwa.
According to officials, the project’s primary objective is to support a qualitative transformation of Sri Lanka’s smallholder tea sector by equipping tea smallholders with modern knowledge and technical understanding related to regenerative agriculture and sustainable cultivation practices.
The initiative also seeks to strengthen the transfer of scientific research generated by the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka (TRI) directly to farming communities within a shorter time frame.
Authorities said the centres will use digital tools and social media platforms to improve communication with smallholder tea growers, reduce reliance on print-based information dissemination, and gather direct feedback from farmers more efficiently.
The facilities are also expected to function as “Training of Trainers” centres aimed at strengthening technical capacity building within the tea smallholder sector.
The initiative also comes amid increasing global focus on sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, regenerative farming methods, and digital transformation within agricultural supply chains, particularly in export-oriented sectors such as tea.
The event brought together senior Government officials, development partners, and international representatives involved in sustainable agriculture and tea sector development.
Among those attending were Acting Ambassador of the Netherlands to Sri Lanka Iwan Rutjens, Plantations and Community Infrastructure Ministry Secretary Gunadasa Samarasinghe, and Tea Smallholding Development Authority Chairman Nimal Udugampala.
Representatives from Solidaridad and the Nucleus Foundation also attended the ceremony, including Solidaridad Managing Director Shatadru Chattopadhyay, Sri Lanka Representative Malory David, and Nucleus Foundation Director Dave Morris.
