• $ 10 m to grow maize in A’pura, Monaragala, Badulla with 7,500 farmers  

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a five-year “Sow and Grow” project, supported by US $ 10 million from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), in partnership with the Sri Lankan Government.

The project aims to strengthen the Thriposha programme by boosting the production of high-quality local maize and ensuring a reliable supply of Thriposha for children under five, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Thriposha is a fortified supplementary food and a longstanding nutrition safety net for vulnerable mothers and children. Sow and Grow will boost local maize production, improve quality and strengthen supply chains for the sustainable provision of Triposha.

The project will support 7,500 farmers in the Anuradhapura, Monaragala and Badulla Districts, boosting productivity, promoting climate-smart farming, and cutting post-harvest losses. It will connect farmers with aggregators and the Sri Lanka Thriposha Limited Company for better market access and ensure a reliable supply of high-quality maize, helping for a lower dependence on imports and to mitigate climate-related risks.

Sow and Grow is projected to enhance nutrition for more than 650,000 children under five, as well as over 330,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women across the country.

The Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, the Health Ministry, the Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Ministry, and the Finance Ministry will partner. 

This partnership aims to bolster national efforts to strengthen food systems, achieve better nutrition outcomes and support sustainable rural livelihoods.

“Maize farmers and processors are facing mounting pressures, from climate shocks to market constraints,” said the WFP’s Representative and Country Director in Sri Lanka, Philip Ward.