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Browsing by Author "Thibbotuwawa, Manoj"

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Analysis of Cinnamon, Pepper and Cardmom Value Chains in Sri Lanka
(2023-07-11) Wijayasiri, Janaka; Thibbotuwawa, Manoj; Hirimuthugogage, Dilani
Present government has identified the spice sector as one of the key sectors for achieving better export performance in future due to the high demand in the export market. To achieve the level of exports that the government anticipates by 2020, the sector needs to overcome key challenges that inhibit its performance. Thestudy maps three spice value chains in Sri Lanka– cinnamon, pepper and cardamom –to identify opportunities as well as constraints including quality and safety issues affecting the sector towards providing recommendations for policy interventions at different points in the chain. It adopts a value chain analysis as a framework of analysis and uses both qualitative and quantitative data to provide a situational analysis. It involved 31 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), six (6) Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), which were supplemented with a purposive survey of farmers and observations to triangulate the findings. The study reveals the following with regard to the three chains in the spice sector. Cinnamon: The cinnamon value chain is fairly complicated with many agents involved at various stages of the process. Cinnamon cultivation is mostly done by smallholders wherein large scale producers and regional plantation companies are also involved in cultivation. Cinnamon peelers are the most important actors in the value chain who are involved at the production level and they play a major role in making cinnamon bales. Village level and regional level wholesale collectors are some of the intermediaries who are involved in the collection stage of the chain;collectors are a crucial link between the producers and exporters. Processing of cinnamon is mainly done by exporters according to their foreign buyer requirements. Lack of skilled labour, high cost of labour and planting materials and unstable prices in the market are some of the main issues faced by the producers. High cost of transportation, poor hygienic practices in storages, and high competition amongst collectors are some of the issues at collector level. At exporter level finding quality products, high cost of maintaining quality standards and market concentration are the main drawbacks. To find solutions to these issues, there is a need to implement several strategies, requiring public private partnership at each levels of the value chain. Pepper: The pepper chain is very fragmented and consists of many agents performing various functions; cultivation is undertaken by smallholders while there are a number of intermediaries in the chain; they include collectors/traders/wholesales, who buy the pepper, clean, grade and in turn sell either to processors/exporters, who then sell in either the local or international market. A number of challenges confront the stakeholders at different points in the pepper chain. At the production level, cultivation/harvest has been affected due to low productivity, climatic changes, cost and availability of inputs including labour, pests/diseases, price fluctuations, theft and inadequate support /assistance for cultivation. In the intermediary stage in the chain, there is inadequacy of supply, lack of facilities for processing of pepper and related labour issues. At the point of exports, the export companies face shortages of supply, quality issues, inadequate facilities to undertake testing, amongst other issues. In the upstream portion of the chain, concern for quality and safety of the product is low compared to exporters, depending on the end‐markets. Addressing these constraints require multi‐pronged approach involving both the private and public sectors including the value chain actors themselves. Cardamom: The marketing structure of cardamom in Sri Lanka is characterized by its traditional nature at the domestic level and comparatively high degree of sophistication at exporter level. The traditional supply chain of cardamom in Sri Lanka is characterized by small holder cultivations, decentralized purchasing, low quality product purchases and sales and the presence of a number of intermediaries who extract a share of the benefits that should have been accrued to the producers. This has resulted in low value added in the chain, poor incentives for upgrading especially related to the quality and technology improvements and sluggish growth of the industry. There is not much concern on producing quality cardamom at the producer level. This can be primarily attributed to poor crop management and post harvest practices, high labour cost, lack of quality awareness and difficulty in getting a premier price due to poor dealer network. Despite the greater scope of expansion created by the various opportunities and strengths in the sector, current production is mostly used for the domestic consumption due to the structural and socio economic issues. Unavailability of suitable lands for cultivation and thrips problem are two most severe issues that the sector is facing at present. The sector requires an integrated approach involving both private and public sector to link the small holders with the processors and exporters in a shortest possible way to ensure not only quantity requirements, but also quality and price signals are moved both ways in the value chain. Research on productivity improvement, quality ensuring, cost minimizing and value adding promotion should be an integral part of such an approach. Given that many of the spices from Sri Lanka including cinnamon, pepper and cardamom are currently destined for developing countries, attention on quality and safety considerations has been low. To diversify markets away from the traditional markets and ensure access to markets in developed countries and meet their expectations, there has to be a lot more emphasis given to improving quality of products exported and processes along the value chains, which requires a collective effort. While the industry has undertaken initiatives towards this end especially in the case of cinnamon sector, much remains to be done to up lift the competitiveness of the industry including the poor stand of products flowing in the chains.
Analysis of cinnamon,pepper and cardamom value chains in Sri Lanka
(Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 2017-03) Wijayasiri, Janaka; Thibbotuwawa, Manoj; Hirimuthugodage, Dilani
Analysis of the Fisheries Sector in Sri Lanka: Guided Case Studies in Value Chain Development for Conflict-Affected Environments
(United States Agency for International Development, 2008-03) Arunatilake, Nisha; Gunawardena, Asha; Marawila, Dilhani; Samaratunga, Parakrama; Senaratne, Athula; Thibbotuwawa, Manoj
Sri Lanka has been affected by prolonged armed conflict, and attendant chronic governance failures, for the past three decades. Evaluating its impact on the performance of specific productive sectors, such as ocean fisheries, remains a timely and important exercise. The value chain analysis methodology offers an insightful way to approach this critical topic due to its focus on identifying the actual and potential competitiveness of particular products and the areas of possible economic development and growth. The USAID AMAP program commissioned this study to ascertain the ability of a value chain analysis to determine the impact these two types of conflict have had on the fisheries industry in southern Sri Lanka—both the direct and indirect physical and other effects the armed conflict has inflicted and the structural consequences of institutional and governance failures. The study used the analysis to compose recommendations for effectively developing the capacity of the fisheries sector to contribute to equitable economic opportunities in Sri Lanka. The research team based their analysis on data from primary and secondary sources at both the national and regional levels. Team members obtained secondary data from fishery-related institutes—community-level organizations, the Ministry of Fisheries and others—and used a participatory appraisal approach to collect primary data from stakeholders involved directly and indirectly in the fisheries value chain—fishermen, traders, processors, government officials and other informed groups. The team selected three study sites—Negombo, Chillaw and Hambanthota—and convened focus groups representing the ethnic and religious heterogeneity of the country’s fishing communities and the range of impacts the conflict was having on different regions of the country. The study addresses the research question, ‘How can value chain analysis and the value chain framework help to identify and understand both the major opportunities for upgrading and the driving constraints to market growth of the fisheries sector given the context of conflict?’ To fully demonstrate the opportunities and constraints associated with the direct and indirect impacts of the conflict, the team developed a value chain/conflict dynamics matrix that identifies both the different chain segments affected directly and indirectly by conflict and the ways in which they are affected. Further analysis of the opportunities and constraints posed by the various dimensions of the conflict yields case-specific examples of the ways the conflict interacts with and affects a given value chain. Opportunities generated by the continuing violent conflicts and related institutional failures in Sri Lanka are negligible compared to the large number of constraints they present to the entire chain, including lack of access to and competitiveness in end markets; sluggish or dormant firms and supporting markets; the need for firm-level upgrading, and a poor business enabling environment. The limited supply of fish to end markets, both domestic and export, and the increased cost of inputs are the most visible impact of conflict on the fisheries industry at the present time. Further, increased security measures and related expenditures have increased the transaction costs for the industry. Such conditions have made ocean fishery a high-cost industry in Sri Lanka, thus reducing not only its competitiveness but also its ultimate potential for growth and ability to act as a driver of poverty reduction. Many entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka’s fisheries industry have identified the constraints to and potential of the sector, but they are unable to bring about substantial change in the conflict-affected environment. The research concludes that the current situation is one of impact-mitigation and maximization of gains because of constraints imposed by the conflicts. Issues related to the generation of a favorable enabling environment through the improvement of public infrastructure (harbor facilities and roads) and services (research, extension and institutional support such as policy reform, quality assurance, input delivery, etc.) depend primarily on the capacity and commitment of relevant state agencies. Although private-sector actors may be able to play a role in advocating for needed reforms the weak governance environment poses obstacles to targeting such efforts and driving meaningful change. To improve competitiveness of the industry, the state should focus on identifying niche markets and product categories, introducing technology, facilitating support services, revising existing trade and export policies and developing needed infrastructure. The private sector can improve the functioning of the value chain through wider access to credit, infrastructure enhancement and increased inter-firm cooperation. These changes are not easily implemented by individual actors, but are possible through collective action with existing fisheries cooperative societies playing a role. In addition, the development of micro-credit facilities is a promising way to circumvent the problems fishers experience with formal financial institutions and could provide them with an alternative to the private moneylenders who are part of an often highly exploitative industry. Cooperative societies can increase fishers’ bargaining power with large organizations higher up the chain and conduct lobbying efforts with state authorities for better operating conditions. Successful cooperative organizations have the potential to enter into public-private partnerships to facilitate the provision of much-needed infrastructure, such as harbors, anchorages and related facilities and to participate in broader development of the sector. To further an understanding of how the conflict affects Sri Lanka’s fisheries industry and how the chain might realize its competitive potential, this study analyzes the value chain as well as the way it interacts with direct and indirect conflict dynamics. Section 1 provides an overview of the conflict context and the fisheries sector and identifies the key development and relief initiatives currently being implemented. Section 2 presents the methodology employed in conducting this study, and Section 3 gives a detailed analysis of the conflict environment in Sri Lanka.1 In Section 4, a detailed analysis of the fisheries industry leads to a discussion of the links between value chain and conflict dynamics. The concluding section highlights insights from applying the value chain analysis in a conflict-affected context, as well as possible ways forward identified by the integrated conflict/value chain analysis.
Cardamom Value Chain Presentation
(2017-01-20) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj
A comparative analysis of productive efficiency and technology gap in irrigated and rain-fed rice farming systems in Sri lanka: non parametric approach
(2013) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj; Mugera, Amin; White, Ben
The paper analyses the differences of technical, allocative, cost and scale efficiencies of irrigated and rain-fed rice farmers in Sri Lanka in two different perspectives; first, relative to a common metafrontier, defined as the boundary of an unrestricted technology set and second relative to group frontiers defined to be the boundaries of restricted technology sets in each group. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) metafrontier and group frontier approaches are used for cross section survey data of 90 farms. Rain-fed farms perform comparably with the irrigated farms based on the group frontier results. Rain-fed farmers may be operating as technically efficient as they could, given the existing production technology. However rain-fed farms move significantly towards inefficiency compared to the irrigated farms under the metafrontier technology. Results indicate that the irrigation shifts the rice sector production frontier to a higher level. In addition, a second stage bootstrapped truncated regression shows that efficiency differences between two regions are explained by the timely availability of the water to a significant extent. We suggest that future sectoral policies should be designed to address the efficiency enhancing factors such as irrigation, quality seed, land ownership and scale and female labour participation
Creative and cultural industries in Sri Lanka
(Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka, 2020-03) Hirimuthugodage, Dilani; Abayasekara, Ashani; Dissanayake, Nimesha; Thibbotuwawa, Manoj
Demand for Fish Consumption
(2016-11-03) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj
Demand for Rice
(2016-11-03) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj
Fertilizer use efficiency of rice farms in Sri Lanka: a slack-based dea analysis
(12th International conference of DEA, 2014) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj; Mugera, Amin W.
Subsidizing fertilizer has been one of the most controversial policy debates in developing country agriculture, especially in Asia. This study investigates the levels and factors affecting fertilizer use efficiency and its budgetary implications in Sri Lanka. Based on a cross-sectional data set for the years 2007 to 2010, we use a two-stage approach to examine the efficiency of fertilizer use for paddy production. The first stage uses the slack-based Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to estimate fertilizer use efficiency. Fertiliser use shows relatively lower inefficiency and dominant efficiency distribution compared to the other inputs. We find that, on average, that fertilizer use can be reduced by 13 percent without comprising yield levels. We also find a positive and significant relationship between fertilizer use efficiency and small farms, rain fed farms and quality seed. The study highlights the importance of estimating individual input use efficiencies besides the traditional technical efficiency especially under market imperfections. Our results have budgetary implications related to the subsidy scheme.
Food security in BIMSTEC region: lessons from Sri Lanka's smart farming
(Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, 2022-03-30) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj
The Impact of New Processing Plant of North Lanka Family Food (Pvt.) Limited (MA’S Foods) on the Farmer Community in the Northern Region
(Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, 2018-11) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj
MA’S Foods, one of the leading firms in Sri Lanka’s food processing industry, has built its new processing plant in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka which is an area that was seriously affected by the civil war. This plant is operated under North Lanka Family Food (Pvt.) Limited (NFF) focusing on developing the livelihood of the farmers and citizens in the Northern Province. Resettled Northern farmers who restarted cultivations are having issues on potential markets and quality of their outputs due to various reasons. MA’S Foods has started a project to source approximately 150 farmers across the province, and train them on sustainable farming practices for a period of two years, with a goal to eventually help them obtain organic and fair trade certification. The main objectives of this study is to undertake the baseline survey in order to get a detailed understanding of the current situation of the farmer community in the province, specifically the ones identified to be a part of the organic & fair-trade certification program and to collect data necessary to monitor changes in market access, changes in employment opportunities & adaptability of sustainable farming by Northern farmers. Moreover, key informant interviews were conducted with relevant officials to get diverse views and concerns. Socio-economic conditions of both farmer groups are almost similar with a considerable level of poverty among sample farmers. Survey could identify few bottlenecks faced by these farmers such as, difficulties in getting fertilizer subsidy & bank loans due to lack of land ownership, water scarcity during dry months, droughts and poor access to inputs and services. Modern farming techniques and value addition in agriculture is rarely practiced in these areas. Therefore the study could identify the need of training and awareness programs on sustainable farming including adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and proper post-harvest operations to ensure the quality of the product throughout the value chain. Training with financial support and linkages to markets is essential. The private sector companies could cooperate with the state institutes such as the Department of Agriculture, Institute of Post-Harvest Technology to provide relevant technical support required for the farmers to implement good agricultural and post-harvest practices as well as to use new technologies to move upper levels of the value chain.
Living wage report Sri Lanka
(2019-05) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj; Jayawardena, Priyanka; Arunatilake, Nisha; Gunasekara, Neluka
Living Wage Report Sri Lanka Estate Sector
(2023-07-11) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj; Jayawardena, Priyanka; Arunatilake, Nisha; Gunasekera, Neluka
This report estimates a living wage for the workers in the estate sector (tea plantation industry) in Sri Lanka in December 2015. The study uses the Anker methodology to estimate the living wage (Anker, 2005; Anker & Anker, 2017). This methodology has been widely used in developing countries to estimate living wages internationally. This methodology has been used to estimate living wages in urban, rural, and non-metropolitan urban settings for the GLWC with 23 living wage estimates published or scheduled for publishing in the next two months, spanning geographies in 13 countries. This work is an expansion of earlier work by the Ankers in urban areas for a multi-national corporation spanning ten countries. Our take-home pay net living wage estimates for tea pluckers for December 2015 in the estate sector in Sri Lanka is LKR 19,126 per month and LKR 21,585 gross living wage per month after adding mandatory deductions. Our living wage estimates are much higher than the official poverty line wage for Sri Lanka (LKR 8,236) and the PPP adjusted World Bank extreme poverty line wage (LKR 6,170). Most importantly, our living wage is well above the World Bank poverty line of $3.1 per day wage per month (LKR 10,067). It is clear that both the Sri Lankan official poverty line wage and World Bank poverty lines wages are too low to provide sufficient income to afford a basic living wage. The gross living wage estimate is considerably higher than the current wage given by the existing cash wage salary package of the tea pluckers, which we estimate is equivalent to LKR 16,022 per month. The final prevailing wage after considering in-kind benefits (LKR 16,971) still leaves a monthly wage gap of LKR 4,613 (LKR 185/day) relative to our estimated living wage of LKR 21,585. Finding this difference is not surprising as estate sector workers have traditionally been considered as one of the poorest communities in Sri Lanka, having low living conditions. Even though, there have been significant improvements over the years, the living conditions of the tea estate community are still not up to standard, in spite of recent wage improvements.
A non-parametric analysis of rice production efficiency in Sri Lanka
(Australian Agricultural & Resource Economic Society, 2012) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj; Mugera, Amin; White, Ben
This article investigates the production efficiency of rice farming in Sri Lanka using cross section survey data of 90 farms. Past studies on rice farming have mostly focused on technical efficiency (TE). Here, we examine technical efficiency, allocative efficiency (AE) and cost efficiency (CE) using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. On average, the farms were 87% technically efficient; irrigated farms were more efficient (88%) than rain-fed farms (82%). Average cost, allocative and scale efficiencies were 73%, 84% and 87%. Bias corrected TE estimate suggests an expected output expansion of 25% with a given input combination in order to become fully efficient as opposed to 16% based on the original estimates. In addition, a second stage Tobit regression shows that efficiency is influenced by farm size, water security, ownership, seed quality, family labour endowment and female labour participation
Proceedings of the International Conference on Innovative Model for Inclusive and Sustainable Agribusiness Development through Public Private Producer Partnerships (4Ps)
(IFAD, 2018-03-21) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj
In partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Government is supporting a more modern approach to agricultural and rural transformation – one that is market-oriented, producer-oriented, promotes technological innovations, and leverages investment and financing from the private sector and financial (banking) sector. The recently completed IFAD-financed National Agribusiness Development Programme (NADeP) and the current ongoing Smallholder Agribusiness Partnerships Programme (SAP) encompass these principles. The public sector is facilitating mutually beneficial (win-win) Public-Private-Producer Partnerships (4Ps) between smallholder farmers and private companies in response to clear market opportunities. This is achieved by strategically combining public and private sector funds and advice to address smallholders’ needs in terms of access to market, technology, organization and scale, good agricultural practices, and affordable credit; and by creating a favorable policy and regulatory environment for the agribusiness and financial sector to expand outreach towards rural clients and become overall more competitive. The private sector is also increasingly demonstrating willingness to partner with smallholder producers to respond to these market opportunities. Subsequently, NADeP has brokered and delivered 17 inclusive value chain projects, pioneering the 4P model in Sri Lanka, with notable impact on rural smallholder income and livelihood conditions. The main objective of the knowledge-sharing conference was to share innovative solutions in terms of instruments, structure and 4P modalities that enable small producers and small enterprises to improve their food security, income and livelihood conditions, whilst contributing to overall rural transformation.
Value Chain Development in Conflict-Affected Environments: Analysis of the Fisheries Sector in Sri Lanka
(2013-09-03) Thibbotuwawa, Manoj; Marawila, Dilhani; Gunawardena, Asha; Samaratunga, Parakrama; Senaratne, Athula; Arunatilake, Nisha
The study attempts to address the basic research question of how can value chain analysis and the value chain framework help us identify and understand the major opportunities for upgrading and the driving constraints to market growth of fisheries sector affected by the aforementioned conflicts. This study employs a modification to the standard value chain analysis, in the form of value chain - conflict dimension matrix which enables identifying which stages of the value chain are affected by which dimension of conflict, and how. Further analysis of the opportunities and constraints against various dimensions of conflicts yielded case specific implications of the conflict-value chain interactions.

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