Saturday Nov 30, 2024
Saturday Nov 30, 2024
Tuesday, 7 March 2023 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Highlights of the program
Tea smallholders and tea planters in the Kalawana area were the latest beneficiaries of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s Dirishakthi Sustainable Entrepreneurship Development Program, when the bank conducted a training and knowledge sharing seminar for them in partnership with the Tea Research Institute (TRI) and the Tea Small Holders Development Authority (TSHDA).
More than 100 people attended the event at the Rambuka temple in Kalawana, which began with a tree-planting activity.
Presentations covered subjects such as soil rehabilitation and replanting, machinery usage in tea cultivation, and the bank’s support under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded Tea Smallholders Loan Scheme. Participants also attended a technical and skills development session conducted by officers of the TRI and the TSHDA. A Mobile Crop Clinic conducted by the TRI offered tea cultivators services such as soil PH & EC testing, soil carbon and nutrient testing, pest identification, root starch testing, and soil and leaf sample collection for nematode testing. A spokesperson for Commercial Bank said the bank intended to continue such programs for the benefit of members of tea growing communities in the hill country, including the Uva Sabaragamuwa region.
The main organisers of the program and the officials that participated in it were the bank’s Regional Manager – Uva Sabaragamuwa Chaminda Kalugamage and Kalawana Branch Manager Vajira Ratnayaka.
Technical knowledge was provided by the TSHDA’s Assistant Regional Manager for Ratnapura Nandana Wijesinghe, Zonal Tea Development Officer Sisira Perera, TRI Senior Advisory Officer Janaka Mahindapala and TRI Senior Research Officer Dr. Sampath Pathiranage. The program was assisted by the Coordinator of the bank’s Agriculture and Micro Finance Unit for Ratnapura Buddhika Madurapperuma.
