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2d ago

Sri Lanka Expands Salinity Reclamation Efforts to Protect Food Security

The government’s sorjan pilot, led by Special Task Force commandos, is cultivating salt-resistant crops and rehabilitating coastal farmland affected by rising salinity.

Soldiers are reshaping flood-prone land by digging ponds where rice can be grown or fish raised, with more saline-tolerant coconut trees planted
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Sri Lankan Special Task Force soldiers work at a plantation in their model farm at Katukurunda. Increasing salinity is slowly swallowing traditional rice paddies along the island's coastline
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Overview

  • The sorjan pilot project in Katukurunda, launched in 2022, is actively cultivating 360 coconut trees, vegetables, and fish ponds on previously salt-damaged land.
  • Sri Lanka has allocated 400 hectares of abandoned farmland for reclamation, with plans to expand to 1,000 hectares within two years for coconut cultivation.
  • Salinity affects 223,000 hectares of arable land in Sri Lanka, roughly 8% of the total, with half of this area consisting of rice paddies critical to food security.
  • Researchers are testing saline-resistant rice varieties and have reported promising results for crops resilient to salinity and flooding conditions.
  • A recent study found that half of rice farmers near the Bentota river estuary lost all income due to saltwater contamination, underscoring the socioeconomic stakes of the issue.