Sri Lanka’s Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board is planning to introduce a new insurance scheme for mushroom cultivations, in a move aimed at shielding a small but growing segment of the farming sector from losses.
According to Ada Derana, the Board — which operates under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation — is preparing the scheme to extend cover to mushroom growers, who have until now had limited access to crop protection tailored to their production.
Mushroom farming has gained traction in Sri Lanka as a low-land, quick-return activity suited to smallholders and home-based producers, but it remains vulnerable to contamination, temperature swings and spoilage that can wipe out a harvest. A dedicated insurance product would give cultivators a financial buffer against such setbacks and could encourage more households to take up the trade.
Further details of the scheme, including premiums, coverage limits and its launch date, were not immediately announced.
