The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a special coconut land rehabilitation programme intended to lift production and encourage more sustainable cultivation, against the backdrop of concerns over a possible El Niño condition in the months ahead.
The scheme is aimed at small-scale growers, and is designed to improve the productivity of their holdings so that domestic demand for coconuts can be met.
Scale and timeframe
The programme is expected to cover around 85,000 acres of coconut land in 2026 and will run over three consecutive years.
Incentives are limited to small-scale growers who own five acres or less. Payments will cover up to 65% of the expenditure a grower incurs on approved activities.
Approved payment rates
The maximum incentives approved are:
- Mulching with fertilizer and dolomite — Rs. 700 per coconut tree
- Mulching with dolomite — Rs. 200 per coconut tree
- Irrigation of coconut lands — Rs. 50,000 per acre
The Cabinet approved the proposal submitted by the Minister of Plantations and Community Infrastructure.
Coconut is one of Sri Lanka’s principal plantation crops alongside tea and rubber, and both domestic prices and export volumes are sensitive to dry-weather cycles that reduce nut yields. The emphasis on mulching and irrigation in the approved payment schedule points to soil-moisture retention as the programme’s main technical objective.
