USAID, in partnership with the Sri Lankan agricultural manufacturer Hayleys Group have started to help Tamil, Muslim, and Sinhalese rice farmers to increase their incomes through modern agricultural practices.

Traditional Sri Lankan paddy farmers are embracing the new practices introduced by USAID & Hayleys, and improving their incomes by expanding to a cash crop with high demand.

Farmers in the eastern districts of Ampara and Moneragala have started to grow small cucumbers that are pickled in brine to become gherkins for the export market. Hayleys’ market access offers opportunities for Sri Lanka’s farmers to switch from subsistence to commercial farming.

The four-month project started last April with 160 farmers growing cucumbers during the idle months between the two traditional rice seasons. These farmers earned an additional $232 on average, a substantial amount for paddy farmers in the region.

“The pilot project with USAID is one of the most exciting projects in the agriculture sector because it is introducing modern agricultural practices to a long-neglected area of our country,” said Hayleys Group Director Rizvi Zaheed. He predicted that the success of the pilot project could be the catalyst for an agricultural renaissance in the Eastern Province through a conversion to modern practices and concepts, a USAID media release said.