Netherlands: Agroforestry project on tea and coconut plantations in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka economically depends heavily on its tea and coconut sectors. These sectors, however, are faced with the challenge to innovate and accelerate action on sustainability. In collaboration with various Sri Lankan and Dutch partners, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) team territorial development (GRO) coordinates a pilot project called ‘Agroforestry on tea and coconut plantations in Sri Lanka’. RVO as facilitator in agricultural transition Sri Lanka is the fourth largest tea producer and the fourth largest coconut exporter in the world. The tea and coconut sectors are of critical importance for the national economy and rural livelihoods. Unfortunately the sectors and their sustainability are at risk as a substantial part of the (largescale) monoculture coconut and tea plantations are degraded. These plantations face serious challenges in terms of land degradation, aging of the plantations, climate change, price volatility, labor scarcity and increasing production costs. ...