The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $200 million emergency assistance loan for Sri Lanka, using funds from other ADB projects, to improve food security and protect the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable, particularly women and children.
“In the midst of the current economic difficulties, food insecurity has severely impacted the people of Sri Lanka.” “This assistance will increase direct financial assistance to the poor and vulnerable, boost livelihood development activities and agricultural production, and strengthen social protection systems,” said Asako Maruyama, ADB Senior Education Specialist for South Asia. “This satisfies the government’s request for a partial cancellation of loan proceeds from ongoing projects, with the funds being used for this emergency intervention.”
The project will extend the temporary increase in the monthly cash grant amount and the number of beneficiaries of existing social assistance programmes, such as the Samurdhi subsidy programme for low-income families and allowances for the elderly, people with disabilities, and kidney disease patients, for at least three months. The project will also support, for at least three months, a temporary increase in the monthly value of food vouchers for pregnant and lactating women, which will be replaced with cash grants, as well as provide assistance to undernourished children under the age of two.
The project will provide financial support for a maximum of 2 hectares of land cultivated by each farmer in higher-yield zones during the upcoming cultivation season in order to increase food production and offset rising agricultural production costs. Furthermore, improved livelihood development programmes for low-income families will be supported in selected districts for 18-20 months in order to restore livelihoods, improve coping capacity, and increase food security. The project will also improve the Samurdhi program’s information technology systems and digital tools, as well as agriculture and agrarian development, to improve cash grant beneficiary selection, verification, monitoring, and communication, as well as financial, advisory, and other services for low-income families and farmers.
Furthermore, ADB will manage a $3 million grant from the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific to support the basic needs of vulnerable women, children, elders, and people with disabilities in shelters and care homes, as well as those at risk of being placed in institutional care. It will improve referral and support systems for victims of gender-based and domestic violence. It will support the upgrading and delivery of the Good Agricultural Practices certification programme in order to promote advanced practises and technologies for precision agriculture and improved crop productivity among farmers.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is dedicated to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while continuing its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. It was founded in 1966 and is owned by 68 members, 49 of whom are from the region.