This dialogue will focus on two aspects:

1). Sri Lanka’s Transition to Sustainable Agriculture: This segment will delve in to Sri Lanka’s readiness to adopt sustainable agriculture practices such as regenerative agriculture, at a time when the Government of Sri Lanka has taken a firm decision to halt the use of chemical fertilizer, pesticides and weedicides. Challenges and solutions in this transition will be discussed in detail. Lessons from other countries that have adopted such practices (for example, Zero Budget Natural Farming in India) will also be shared, with the aim of identifying a suitable model for Sri Lanka.

2). Role of Sustainable Finance: This segment will delve into how innovative financing mechanisms could support Sri Lanka’s transition to Sustainable Agriculture. The current context of climate finance and conservation finance in Sri Lanka will be discussed and analyzed. Lessons from other countries such as the Sustainable India Finance Facility and the Tropical Landscape Finance Facility from Indonesia will be discussed and replication of such models in Sri Lanka will be explored.

The dialogue aims to create a multistakeholder approach in promoting collaboration between the agri-food sector and the financial services sector.