SriLanKoRDAA

Awarding Scholarships

The scholarship awarding ceremony organized by SriLankordaa was held on 16th September, 2011 at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya. The chief guest of the ceremony was His Excellency Mr. Jongmoon Choi, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka, Prof. K. Samarasinghe , dean, Faculty of Agriculture welcomed all guests and students, and thanked the Government of the Republic of Korea and SriLankordaa for their generous support given to his students.

Mr. Shantha Emitiyagoda, Secretary of SriLankordaa, presented the details of scholarship programme and appreciated the generous support of the Rural Development Administration, Suwon, the Republic of Korea and the alumni members of SriLanKORDAA.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. K.E. Karunathilake, the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, expressed his sincere thanks to the Republic of Korea and KOICA for their continuous support given to develop the Agriculture in Sri Lanka. He also thanked His Excellency Mr. Jongmoon Choi for his continuous support extends to SriLankordaa and for his presence to grace the ceremony. Mr. Karunathilake emphasized His Excellency’s excellent diplomatic capabilities and dedication through which Sri Lanka has gained tremendous benefits. Mr. Karunathilake requested all scholarship winners to study hard and to contribute to develop Sri Lanka.

His Excellency Mr. Jongmoon Choi officially awarded scholarships to students and handed over furniture to improve the facilities of students.His Excellency requested all students to work hard to develop Sri Lanka and explained how the Republic of Korea achieved a vast development through hard working.

Prof S.B.S. Abayakoon, Vice-Chancellor, University of Peradeniya expressed his thanks for the financial assistance given to the University.

The president of the Students’ Union delivered the vote of thanks.

Agriculture Information and Technology Bank

Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardhana, Minister of Agriculture, ceremonially opened the first Agriculture Information and Technology Bank (AITB) of Sri Lanka established jointly by the Department of Agriculture and SriLanKoRDAA on 30th July 2010 at the Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI), Batalagoda, Ibbagamuwa, Sri Lanka.

Mr. Shantha Emitiyagoda, Additional Secretary (Agriculture Technology), Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Kim SangHwa, Deputy Director, ITCC, RDA, Korea, and Dr. Nimal Dissanayake, Director, RRDI, Department of Agriculture also marked their presence to grace the occasion. SriLanKoRDAA funded this pilot project and hope to facilitate the access to Agriculture Information, particularly for farmers of North Western Province (NWP). SriLanKoRDAA hopes that this facility will help to enhance farmers’ capacity to use Information Technology in Agriculture and thereby contributing to increase the food production in NWP, which is the largest agricultural production area in Sri Lanka.

Establishment of Community Based Seed Production villages

The demand for good quality seeds & planting materials have been increasing as Sri Lanka is moving to produce more food especially under the accelerated food production programme “Api Wawamu; Rata Nagamu”. The amount of seed produced by the present formal seed production programmes is inadequate and is a major constraint in crop production in the country. SriLanKoRDAA developed and funded a pilot project to find a solution to this problem. The programme has been planned to establish seed production villages in 6 districts namely Ampara, Anuradhapura, Hambantota, Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa and Puttalam. The objective of the programme is to produce quality seeds of Rice and Other Field Crops (Finger millet, Gingelly, Green gram, Black gram and Groundnut). Members of SriLanKoRDAA directly involve in establishing seed production units in selected Grama Niladhari Division and the project has been implemented as a farmers’ participatory programme. The programme has been initiated by organizing small farmers groups. The basic seed of rice and OFC, required technological advices, trainings, seed certification services are provided by the Department of Agriculture.

SriLanKoRDAA wishes that this pilot project would be a model to be followed to enhance production of good quality seed at village level.

The sixth Annual General Meeting of SriLanKoRDAA was held on 30th April 2011 at the Plant Genetic Resources Centre, Gannoruwa, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

Mr. K.E. Karunathilake, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture chaired the business session held from 9:00 am - 12:30 pm.

Secretary of SriLanKoRDAA, Mr. Shantha Emitiyagoda presented the Minutes of the 5th AGM and Dr. Weerakoon presented the audited treasurer’s report and both were adopted. Mr. Emitiyagoda reviewed the progress of projects implemented by SriLanKoRDAA and discussed the future plans with the membership.

SriLanKoRDAA organized sight seeing tours around Kandy, for the family members and also a tour around Agro Parks, Gannoruwa.

A special ceremony organized by SriLanKoRDAA, started at 3:30 pm with the participation of members and several distinguished guests including two KOICA experts Mr. Park Yong and Mr. Kim Jae Ho. Mr. K.E. Karunathilake, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture welcomed all guests.

Mr. Sumith Nakandala, Director General of the Foreign Ministry, Sri Lanka, delivered the key-note speech and emphasized the responsibilities of various sectors to deal with growing international affairs of Sri Lanka. The speech enlightened the audience as the theme of the SriLankordaa of the year is “Agriculture Development through International Cooperation”.

The work of all SriLanKoRDAA project coordinators and special contributors were appreciated and awards were presented.

Secretary of SriLanKoRDAA, Mr. Shantha Emitiyagoda delivered the vote of thanks. The ceremony was followed by a social get-together which strengthened the friendship among SriLanKoRDAA members.

The fifth annual general meeting of SriLanKoRDAA was held on 27th February 2010 at the District Agriculture Training Centre, Thirunelvely, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Mr. K.E. Karunathilake, additional secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services was the chief guest. The members appointed Dr. S.L. Weerasena as the pro-time president. Mr. K. Subramanium, the Provincial Director of Agriculture (PDA), Northern Province delivered the key-note speech and presented the status of agriculture in Northern Province. He also discussed challenges and future plans in agriculture production and marketing in Northern Province. SriLanKoRDAA requested PDA and other officers to develop and submit project proposals related to agriculture development. Members visited several farmers’ fields and exchanged ideas with farmers. This visit to Jaffna was a grate opportunity to members and their family members to witness several cultural events that are unique to northern agricultural community. This was a chance to refresh and strengthen bonds between South and North.

The fourth annual general meeting of SriLanKoRDAA was held on 22nd November 2008 at the In-Service Training Institute, Gannoruwa, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Mr. Song Min Heyon, the Resident Representative of KOICA was the Chief Guest. Dr. C. Kudagamage, the Director General of Agriculture, delivered the key note speech and emphasized the importance of implementing “Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu” food cultivation programme to increase food production in Sri Lanka. The chief guest, Mr. Mr. Song Min Heyon addressed the gathering and expressed KOICA’s enthusiasm to fund agriculture projects and also to provide training opportunities in agriculture field.

The third annual general meeting of SriLanKoRDAA was held on 22nd June 2007 at Polonnaruwa Rice Training & Demonstration Farm of the Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka. Prof. K.G.A. Gunasekara, the president of SriLanKoRDAA, welcomed all invitees. Mr. Gaminie Samarasinghe, Director (Extension and Training) of the Department of Agriculture launched the web site of SriLanKoRDAA (www.srilankordaa.org). Dr. Nimal Dissanayake, Director (Rice Research and Development Institute) of the Department of Agriculture delivered a lecture on “Potential for Rice Export in Sri Lanka”. The president of Dong Yang Company, Mr. Imm Hee Cheol introduced and demonstrated a small scale rice processing machine. The progress of the two demonstration farms funded by SriLanKoRDAA was reviewed.

Rice research Training and Demonstration Farm was cerimonially opened by Honorable Minister of Agricultural Development & Agrarian Services, Mr. Maithreepala Sirisena on 22 June 2007 at 9.30 a.m.

Honorable Deputy Minister Agrarian Services, Mr. Siripala Gamlatha and other distinguish guests were participated the event

His Excellency the ambassador of Republic of Korea in Sri Lanka
Mr. Kwon Yung Dal also participated as guest of honou