Livelihood support in Sri Lanka

We are earning an income, navigating a crisis and coming together as a farming community

As Sri Lanka faces its worst economic crisis, people with existing vulnerabilities have been pushed further into poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity. With ILO support, vulnerable members of farming communities in the country’s northern province are earning an income by completing irrigation, flooding, and farmland access related maintenance work in their lands.

Date issued: 08 February 2023 | Size/duration: 00:03:13

In the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, many rely on agriculture for their livelihood. But with the sector disrupted on several fronts, vulnerable and marginalized groups engaging in farming have been forced to grapple with exacerbated challenges in carrying on their daily life. ILO's LEED+ (Local Empowerment through Economic Development and Reconciliation) Project support to farmers, women heads of households, and persons with disabilities, through short-term employment is providing a much-needed source of income. With routine agriculture infrastructure maintenance undertaken by the Department of Agrarian Development stalled due to restricted budgets, it’s also simultaneously creating a mechanism for such work to be completed and ensuring that farmers can continue their agriculture activities in the next season.

Supported by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and the Government of Norway, the LEED+ project is a part of ILO's Global Jobs for Peace and Resilience Programme. At its very core, LEED+ is a quintessential ILO effort, given its ultimate aim of creating decent, inclusive, and sustainable jobs, and ensuring the empowerment of conflict-affected communities in the process.