Sri Lanka kicks off France-supported RIVER project 

• 6,000 small-scale rubber estate owners in Monaragala and Ampara districts to benefit from project
• Project funded by French Govt. and top tyre company Michelin Group 
• Ksapa Group will implement project under Plantation Industries Ministry, French Embassy guidance

French Ambassador Jean-François Pactet

Industries Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana

The Rubber Improvement of Value Chain and Embedded Smallholders Resilience (RIVER) project yesterday entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to start off a project supported by the French Government and top tyre manufacturer – Michelin Group to support 6,000 rubber farmers.

The initiative is supported by the French Government, Michelin Business Consortium and Michelin Lanka Company.

The project will support farmers to improve their value chain of rubber products and expand their capacities through this project for three years. The implementation of the project will benefit 6,000 small-scale rubber estate owners in Badalkumbura and Medagama areas in the Monaragala district.

This initiative is financially supported by the Michelin Group, and its operations are carried out by the Michelin Lanka Company, the group›s local subsidiary. France-based Ksapa Group will implement the project under the guidance of the Plantation Industries Ministry and the French Embassy.

There will be 565,000 Euros committed to the project for the development of green ideas, with a total expenditure of roughly 1 million Euros. The grants are invested as part of a public-private partnership led by the French Ministry of Economics and Finance.

Many dignitaries including the Plantation Industries Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Ksapa Managing Director Raphael Hara, Michelin Lanka CEO Koenrad Pringiers, Plantation Industries Ministry Secretary Janaka Dharmakirthi, officials of the Rubber Research Institute, Rubber Department of many other State officials joined the event.

“We are working over the next three years to provide information and other resources regarding raising agricultural output and using technology, enhancing financial literacy, and so on,” Minister Dr. Pathirana said.

He said through this project, rubber and other diverse crops are grown, clones are selected, latex is collected, fertilisers are applied, training in chemical use is provided, and skills such as entrepreneurship, human resource management, leadership, and responsible labour management practices are developed.

“The Michelin Company, which is helping us, has raised Sri Lanka›s tyre production to the international level. Sri Lanka is known as a top hard tyre production country, and it is vital to supply raw materials at competitive costs.  Thus, we are working to promote rubber cultivation through this project,” Dr. Pathirana added.

Also, per the requirements of this project, attention will be paid to the social responsibility of 6000 natural small-scale rubber growers as well as the adoption of environmentally friendly practices and the project is expected to benefit approximately 30,000 Sri Lankans. The project is also expected to bring additional economic benefits to the 6,000 rubber growers by improving their family-related sources of income and skills.

In addition to that, a mobile phone application called SUTTI developed by Ksapa will also be introduced at the same time and the application will share agricultural knowledge, help to measure production properly, analyse income performance and evaluate the impact of the project. 

In December 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers approved to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement the said project.