Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya participated as the Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Conference on Innovations in Rural Development and the CIRDAP Knowledge Circuit Dialogue held in Colombo.
The Asia-Pacific Conference on Innovations in Rural Development, held from October 7 to 9, is jointly organised by the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) and the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI).
The conference provides a platform for sharing practical ideas and innovations aimed at building more resilient, inclusive and sustainable rural communities. Addressing the occasion, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the technological advancements have had, and continue to have, a significant impact on rural communities, transforming the digital landscape and bringing significant changes to areas such as transportation and connectivity stressing the importance of ensuring that communities that have been left behind also benefit from these transformations through innovative approaches.
The Prime Minister further emphasised that the responsibility of governments and institutions is to create the conditions in which these ideas can flourish. She stated that this requires investment in rural innovation, skills and digital literacy; improved access to finance, technology and markets; stronger value chains connecting research, finance, producers and consumers; and governance that listens to rural communities and recognises their knowledge and agency. Highlighting the importance of moving beyond viewing rural communities primarily as beneficiaries of development programmes, she emphasized the need for recognising them as partners, innovators and drivers of development.
Moreover, the climate change, food and nutrition security, rural youth employment, agricultural productivity, market access, disaster resilience and the sustainable management of natural resources cannot be addressed by countries working in isolation. She further stated that this conference provides an important opportunity to bring together rural communities, farmers, researchers, young people, women entrepreneurs, universities, development organisations, the private sector and government institutions to exchange knowledge, experiences and innovative solutions. “Regional cooperation allows us to learn not only from experiences similar to our own, but also from approaches that challenge us to think differently,” the Prime Minister stated . Noting that Sri Lanka has contributed to CIRDAP’s institutional processes through its participation in the Governing Council, Executive Committee and Technical Committee, as well as through the engagement of Sri Lankan officials and experts in training programmes, workshops, conferences and policy dialogues, she stated that " the value of this cooperation goes beyond individual programmes. It lies in building relationships between institutions, researchers, policymakers and practitioners, comparing experiences, learning from both successes and failures, and adapting regional knowledge to our own national realities. The occasion was attended by Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K. D. Lal Kantha; Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Upali Pannilage; Director General of CIRDAP Dr. P. Chandra Shekara; Director of HARTI Prof. Dr. A. L. Sandika; and participants from countries across the CIRDAP region.
