Empowerment of Women through
Agriculture and other training:
Experience of a Non Governmental
Organization
• Agriculture: Oldest Occupation in Sri
Lanka
• Many Women in the Agricultural Sector.
• Mainstream Women as human resource
for National Development.
• Poor rural Women still lack basic
facilities in this sector.
Sri Lanka – Statistics
District
Population
Annual Growth
Land Area
Rate
(sq.kilometre)
Kurunegala
1452369
0.9
4624
Puttalam
705342
1.8
2882
Galle
990539
1.0
1617
Matara
761236
0.8
1270
Hambantota
525370
1.1
2496
Ampara
589344
2.0
4222
Moneragala
396173
1.8
5508
• Establishment of Agromart Foundation
• Vision – To empower rural communities
with a gender sensitive approach to
reduce poverty.
DISTRICTS OF SRI LANKA
AGROMART’S AREAS OF
OPERATION
The Foundation operates in
seven administrative
districts i.e. Kurunegala,
Puttalam, Galle, Matara,
Hambantota, Ampara, and
Moneragala.
• Goal of Agromart Outreach Foundation
• Entrepreneur Development training programme
• Economic Literacy Training Programme
• Training for Everyone
– The Rural Polytechnic
• Rural Women’s Coalition for
Gender Equity and Political
representation
• Agromart’s Marketing Strategies
• Annual Trade Fair
• Annual Farmer Competition
•Agromart’s Micro Credit Intervention
• Anti – Poverty Lending Programme
• Rewards Enhanced Loan Scheme
• Randora Society Solidarity Group
Loan Scheme
Impact of Training
• Promotion of women Entrepreneurs
• Individual & Community Development
Leadership Promotion
• Empowerment process – social and economic
stability and community cohesion through
formation of Agromart Production Societies
• Development of citizens responsibility and
political rights
W.K.A.S.V. Chandralatha
• Winner of several agricultural
competitions and a successful
vegetable grower and poultry
farmer.
• Rare example of a poor rural
woman who has transformed
from, ‘Poverty to Prosperity’
Sriyani Gunawardena
• A successful prawn farmer and a vegetable
grower
H.H. Leelawathi
• Female head of her household
• Cultivates vegetables and Banana in her
‘Chena’ field
M.M. Dayaseeli
• Vegetable cultivator in her ancestral
property
• Winner of the ‘Farmer Competition’ held by
Agromart