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Item Policies and their Implications for the Domestic Agricultural Sector of Sri Lanka 1995-2000(Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, 2002) Epaarachchi, Roshen; Jayanetti, Sanath; Weliwita, AnandaItem Climate Insurance for Dry Zone Farmers in Sri Lanka: Prospects for Index Insurance(Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, 2019) Wickramasinghe, KanchanaItem Transforming tobacco farming in Sri Lanka:a value chain analysis(Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, 2023) Dissanayaka, Nimesha; Hirimuthugodage, Dilani; Thibbotuwawa, ManojTobacco cultivation was first introduced to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Since then, significant efforts have been made to increase tobacco cultivation in the country. In 1990, approximately 0.47% of agricultural land, equivalent to 8,920 hectares (Ha), was under tobacco cultivation. However, the stimulus policy interventions granted to tobacco cultivation dropped substantially since the 1990s with the global drive against tobacco. The widespread belief is that supporting a shift from tobacco to alternative crops is essential due to its negative consequences. Tobacco cultivation has been identified as a social stigma because of the long-term impacts on the environment and livelihoods, which appear to exceed the short-term benefits such as income generation and employment creation. Further, a growing body of literature highlights the global negative consequences of tobacco cultivation, including high labour requirements for tobacco cultivation, environmental degradation, and health risks associated with leaf harvesting and leafcuring