As Sri Lanka further embraces the digital economy, the launch of the digital platform Crop Resources, Optimising Operations through Precise Information Exchange System (CROPIX) denotes a significant step in the direction of data-driven agriculture.
With the modernisation of Sri Lanka’s agricultural governance system, the country works to strengthen food security and improve farmers’ services through evidence-based decision-making.
However, with the movement of the platform into the real-world, questions concerning how data is gathered and controlled, and whether it can deliver unbiased and reliable insights in a comprehensive and diverse sector like agriculture, remain.
Background
In an initiative to integrate national crop registry, cultivation data, yield forecasting, and real-time reporting into a single platform to collect, analyse, and share agricultural data, the Ministry of Agriculture and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with financial support from the Gates Foundation, launched CROPIX on 22 January.
Developed by integrating fragmented data systems, this system is expected to remove existing bottlenecks or points of congestion in the sector that severely slow it down, by enabling efficient data sharing among Government institutions.
According to a media release by the ICT Division of the Ministry of Digital Economy, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation K.D. Lalkantha has emphasised that CROPIX marks a decisive turning point in Sri Lanka’s agricultural governance.
The need for the system
Following the onslaught of Cyclone Ditwah across the nation and damage caused to crops, a budget circular issued by the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development announced the provision of immediate relief to restore the lives of those affected by the disaster.
Out of the listed compensations, the circular notes a payment of a one-time allowance of Rs. 150,000 per hectare for crop damage or replanting of paddy, grains, maize, and field crops affected, and a Rs. 200,000 one-time allowance per hectare for the damage or for replanting vegetable cultivations impacted by the disaster.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunaratne explained that several issues had been faced when obtaining details of the extent of damage and those affected.
The CROPIX system proves vital in that regard, as it documents a wide range of seasonal crops, allowing authorities to calculate damage caused in relation to the showcased range of vegetables and field crops.
Issued in early December 2025, the Phase 1 – Preliminary Scoping assessment of the Joint Rapid Needs Assessment utilised CROPIX software to report as follows: “In addition, approximately 95,799 ha of other field crops (OFCs) and 13,463 ha of vegetables, such as maize, pulses, bananas, and various vegetable crops (CROPIX, Department of Agriculture), have suffered extensive damage due to flooding, prolonged inundation, and wind impact.”
Karunaratne added: “When you take rice into consideration, we are facing a shortage of the keeri samba variant while having a surplus in nadu. In general, although we are self-sufficient in rice, we have a lack of keeri samba stocks.”
In order to devise a solution for this problem, Karunaratne noted that a database reporting real-time data was imperative, as it would help encourage the cultivation of crops that were facing a shortage. He further explained that such a system was needed in order to prevent the further dwindling of keeri samba supplies.
According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s Daily Price Report, the wholesale and retail price per kilo of samba is set between Rs. 245 and Rs. 260, with stocks unavailable at Narahenpita. In relation, the prices of rice varieties such as nadu and kekulu (white and red) are set much lower, ranging from a minimum of Rs. 203 to a maximum of Rs. 240.
Misplaced priorities?
Despite its aim of providing an efficient database, not all stakeholders are on board with the digitalisation, claiming that it is not an immediate priority, especially for farmers struggling with the current status of Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector.
National Agrarian Unity President Anuradha Tennakoon argued that the initiative was nothing more than a “digital illusion” created by policymakers who were disconnected from ground realities.
He claimed that although the Department of Agriculture already maintained a farmer’s registry, the numerical data was unreliable and “bogus” as it was based on incomplete research carried out within a limited group of farmers.
Tennakoon further questioned the necessity of a digital platform like CROPIX amidst the remaining deeper underlying structural issues in the sector. According to him, seed farms have been almost completely eradicated and around 92% of seeds, including basic vegetable seeds, are being imported.
“Farmers’ lives have not been improved. The country is in a place where even rice has to be imported if even a single harvest season fails,” he said, adding that big onion production had faced a drastic decline despite a national demand of around 280,000 MT.
While emphasising that modernisation and technology were not always negative, he said: “Agriculture is not something on a smartphone, it is on the land.”
He warned that introducing an advanced digital system like CROPIX without strengthening farmers themselves was simply a misplaced priority, especially when crop destruction caused by wild animals and other factors, lack of value-added production, and excessive agro-chemical usage were notably more pressing issues in South Asia.
Tennakoon further noted that Sri Lanka had not conducted an economic census on agricultural activities – which is a fundamental requirement in developing the agricultural production economy – in more than 50 years.
How it works
CROPIX is divided into different sections that mark its main functions.
The platform’s features at present are namely ‘Open Data,’ which explores curated open datasets on Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector to power insights, applications, and evidence-based decision-making; the ‘Live Dashboard,’ which allows the access of a comprehensive agricultural live data dashboard on the sector, enabling transparency and informed decision-making; ‘Vegetable Early Warning,’ providing farmers with recommendations for the best vegetables to plant based on current biweekly data; ‘Historical Data,’ exploring seasonal cultivation history and long-term trends; and ‘API Documentation,’ which facilitates seamless, efficient, and secure data sharing and more.
Deputy Minister Karunaratne explained that farmers could sign in and log into the system through their personal devices, using the system as a comprehensive tool to improve sustainability and productivity.
However, a large gap in media literacy and knowhow presents itself through the digital divide prevalent in rural areas.
“This digital platform does not even account for 1% of the solutions for the problems farmers are facing, especially when most farmers lack smartphones and technological facilities,” Tennakoon said in this regard, highlighting that most farmers hailing from rural areas lacked not only technological knowledge, but also the required devices, such as smartphones. At present, around 7,000–8,000 farmers who are in the system have been registered only through field-level efforts of the authorities, according to him.
Responding to these concerns, Karunaratne stated that several workshops aimed at educating farmers on how to access and use the system were being conducted at present in an attempt to combat the lack of understanding on digital systems.
Bias in the system
One of the main features of CROPIX allows farmers to individually update details regarding their own cultivations, including farm-specific data such as field location; crop type; planting dates; pH values of soil; the presence of chemicals such as potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen in crops such as rice; and other information for more specific estimation with regard to matters such as the distribution of free fertiliser, reducing damages caused to crops, increasing harvest, and more.
Amid such a backdrop, The Sunday Morning questioned the Deputy Minister on concerns of personal bias, as farmers are given the reins in handling their information. Addressing this, Karunaratne gave the assurance that a number of officials would be monitoring the database in order to ensure the weeding out of false or exaggerated data.
He said: “For example, if someone says his land is bigger or smaller than it is, officials will be able to note the difference. Further, his own fellow farmers would see him as a fraud, which is likely to deter people from inputting incorrect data.”
He noted that there were more repercussions than there were benefits to falsifying details, which would be detrimental to the individual farmer.
Karunaratne further stated that the database was being supervised as of present, with its functioning already implemented.