Productivity of Agri-Food Sector of Sri Lanka: The Story Unseen, Unfolded or Untold

Abstract

The agriculture sector in Sri Lanka has been perceived by a large proportion of politicians, policy makers, scientists, academia, and general public as a sector with “low productivity”. Yet, once the contribution of food and related industries are added, the Agri-Food Sector (AFS) is highly productive and vibrant, just as much as in any economy. Therefore, the political leadership should be aware of the contributions made by the AFS and be cautious in interpreting the productivity estimates made by various agencies, especially on the productivity of agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector in Sri Lanka. Further, the size of the AFS of Sri Lankan economy and the contributions of overall AFS and the sub-sectors, i.e., agriculture, food manufacturing and food service, should be taken into account if contribution to the Gross Domestic Product and to employment is to be more accurately perceived. Identification of productivity of different sub-sectors together with the constraints to improve productivity, would help the government of Sri Lanka in developing strategies to make the process of economic development proceed further and faster.