Mohamed Esham

Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka | SUSL · Department of Agribusiness Management

Nutritional Diversity of Rural Households: A Study on the Dietary Wealth of Rural Households in Sri-Lanka. Home gardens through established crop and animal bio diversity has a high potential to establish food security and dietary diversity among the rural households. Objectives of the study were to identify the nutritional diversity generated by t...

Policy brief based on final year undergraduate research

The project “From Urban Waste to Sustainable Value Chains: Linking Sanitation and Agriculture Through Innovative Partnerships” is funded under the Knowledge and Linkages for an Inclusive Economy (KLIE) Grants Program of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). This project seeks to answer the question: “What are the enablers a...

This report presents design options for sustainable organic waste value chains informed by research focused on (1) waste system assessment; (2) study on social and market research of organic value chains; and (3) political economy analysis. This research was undertaken as part of Activity 4 within the project From urban waste to sustainable value c...

The Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) remains one of the backward provinces out of 34 provinces in Indonesia known for its high prevalence of undernutrition, poor access to sanitation, high poverty level, high infant mortality rate, and lack of physical infrastructure. Poor people face numerous shocks caused by climate variability that directly or indirect...

Cinnamon is the most important and valuable spice among all the other spices in Sri Lanka. Ceylon cinnamon plant called “Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume” is indigenous to Sri Lanka which generates 85% of the world production. Sri Lankan Cinnamon accounts for 60% of the total spice export earnings in 2018 (Tridge, 2020). As a primary spice of Sri Lanka,...

The tea sector plays a key role in Sri Lankan economy, being the third largest source of foreign exchange and the fourth largest tea producer in the world. Tea accounts for about 0.6% of gross domestic production (GDP) (Central Bank, 2020). The current tea extent of Sri Lanka is approximately 204,600 ha and the total tea production in 2020 was 278....

The co-creation approach increasingly becomes the preferred model for designing and delivering solutions with the participation of a knowledgeable community. This study describes a co-creation experience with academia, industry stakeholders and policymakers from agroecosystem setting in designing a Master programme on tropical agroecosystems with t...

Since the ancient eras, rice plays a significant role in the agriculture of Sri Lanka. Productivity and food security in peri-urban agriculture is essential with the rapid emergence of urbanization in the country. This study, investigates the herbicide productivity and the farmer awareness level to ensure food security in the peri-urban districts....

Farmer companies (FCs) were a form of farmer-owned firms established in Sri Lanka during the mid-1990s. These have been facilitated by state institutions. Maximization of returns through commercial agriculture has been the main objective of FCs. However, no FCs were operating by the year 2010. This article explains that the institutional facilitati...

Sustainable management of municipal solid waste (MSW) is a critical issue around the world, especially in South Asia where waste generation is expected to double by 2050. Closing the food-nutrient cycle through composting biodegradable MSW has the potential to meet human needs, including sanitation and food security, while protecting the environmen...

This paper presents a framework for value chain profiling developed for the Ceylon cinnamon industry of Sri Lanka. The value chain profiling framework is the first step towards developing a value chain description scheme for the Ceylon cinnamon industry. Four leading cinnamon producing districts (Galle, Matara, Kalutara, and Ratnapura) were conside...

Ceylon cinnamon grown and produced in Sri Lanka has acquired a long-standing reputation in the international market. As the fourth largest foreign exchange earner cinnamon plays a significant role in the Sri Lankan economy. Sri Lanka holds a monopoly in Ceylon cinnamon in the world market. Hence, Ceylon cinnamon has opened undisputed windows of opp...

Cinnamon Botany, Agronomy, Chemistry and Industrial Applications

The project “From Urban Waste to Sustainable Value Chains: Linking Sanitation and Agriculture Through Innovative Partnerships” is funded under the Knowledge and Linkages for an Inclusive Economy (KLIE) Grants Program of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). This report presents the findings from the second of four project a...

The twin challenges of climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic are food system drivers capable of influencing the food system outcomes comprising food security, social welfare and environmental capital. The impact of climate change in the context of a severely weakened economy due to Covid-19 has exacerbated the risks of food availability and acce...

Two of the biggest global challenges for food security – phosphorus scarcity and climate change – are threatening farmers’ livelihoods, agricultural productivity and environmental integrity. In Sri Lanka, the agricultural sector is comprised largely of smallholder farmers where rain-fed rice is often a staple. Yet climate change projections indicat...

All about Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum)

Commercialized agriculture shows better avenues in diversifying the rural livelihoods. Floriculture industry is an avenue to initiate successful small scale enterprises in a conductive environment. This paper explores the aspects in small scale floriculture industry to adapt strategies in rural development through indexing the success of floricultu...

Sri Lanka is the market leader of Ceylon cinnamon with a 90% global market share. Cinnamon is one of the leading foreign exchange earners from among agricultural exports of Sri Lanka. The cinnamon extent of cultivation, production, and yield has only marginally increased over the past few decades despite high potential in the global market. However...

Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume), among the first traded spices of the ancient world, led for many centuries with the power of Arab monopoly in the industry, was known for its medicinal, chemical and aromatic properties. Cinnamon has been one of the oldest, most popular and expensive baking spices in many cultures for centuries. Pharma...

The global climate change has become one of the imperative issue for the smallholder dominated agriculture and tourism sectors in Sri Lanka. This study investigated the perception of farmers on climate change and the potential of agritourism as a sustainable adaptation option to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change in both tourism and ag...

There is growing concern in Sri Lanka over the impact of climate change, variability and extreme weather events on food production, food security and livelihoods. The link between climate change and food security has been mostly explored in relation to impacts on crop production or food availability aspects of food security, with little focus on ot...

Two of the biggest global challenges for food security – phosphorus scarcity and climate change – are threatening farmers’ livelihoods, agricultural productivity and environmental health. Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector is comprised largely of smallholder farmers, where rain-fed rice is often a staple of the diet. Climate change projections indicat...

Two of the biggest global challenges for food security – phosphorus scarcity and climate change – are threatening farmers' livelihoods, agricultural productivity and environmental integrity. Risks are particularly high in low-middle income Asia-Pacific countries, yet remain insufficiently assessed or mitigated. In Sri Lanka, with an agricultural se...

Strong science, technology, and innovation links between universities and industry are of critical importance to Sri Lanka as it strives to become an upper-middle-income country. This report presents an overview of current U-I collaboration in Sri Lanka by analyzing responses to a survey of companies and university departments in 2015. Data from t...

Farmers' organizations are inclusive of the poor and are charged with the purpose of becoming a market outlet for smallholder farmers in Guinea. Improving farmers' income earning capability and agricultural productivity has been an important strategy of Guinea's agriculture development policy. However, despite their growing importance, empirical st...

Maze (Zea mays L.) is the second most important cereal crop after rice produced in Sri Lanka. The government of Sri Lanka has taken steps to expand maize production in the country. In the context of these initiatives; this paper analyzes empirically the technical efficiency of smallholder maize farmers in Sri Lanka using a stochastic frontier produ...

Salt production is a major driving force behind the loss of mangrove in Guinea. As the traditional salt production causes increasing deforestation, the intensive exploitation of mangrove resources has now reached a critical threshold. Therefore, improved techniques using sunlight as the source of energy has been introduced as an alternative to the...

Global climate change is having serious implications for the smallholder dominated agricultural sector in Sri Lanka. The extreme climate events have increased in the recent years and will continue to increase with serious consequences for the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka. Given the gravity of the issue, it will be important to draw ideas and in...

Lack of statistical data constitutes the main constraint to assess the effects of land use change in developing countries like Guinea. Here we examine the role of land use change in improving the livelihood of local mangrove rice farmers in the Guinean coastal zone based on both satellite and field survey data. We investigated land use change dynam...

In Guinea, the national rice consumption exceeds rice production, leading to concerns about food security. Thus, recent governmental measures have been directed towards promoting rice production, particularly in the coastal areas, the only zone where the mangrove rice production is practiced. Rice is the most important food crop and its production...

This paper investigated the influence of portfolio of livelihood activities on income inequality and poverty reduction in the Guinean coastal area. The study used primary data collected through a survey of salt producers, mangrove rice farmers and wood loggers along the Guinean coast in Koba. The survey used a questionnaire to collect data on peasa...

Salt production is a major driving force behind the loss of mangrove in Guinea. As the traditional salt production causes increasing deforestation, the intensive exploitation of mangrove resources has now reached a critical threshold. Therefore, improved techniques using sunlight as the source of energy has been introduced as an alternative to the...

It is widely accepted that farmer-based organizations are vital for empowering and improving small farmers’ access to markets. However, farmer-based organizations have not always been successful as it is the case with farmer companies in Sri Lanka. The purpose of this article is to examine some of these issues and propose solutions drawing from lon...

The purpose of this research was to analyze three small-scale salt production techniques practiced in the coastal area of Guinea to examine the appropriate techniques for an alternative livelihood and sustainable mangrove forest management. Descriptive statistics, gross marginal analysis and quantile regression (QR) were used in the analysis. A sam...

Climate change is inevitable and will continue into the next century. Since the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka is one of the most vulnerable to climate change, a thorough understanding of climate transition is critical for formulating effective adaptation strategies. This article provides an overview of the status of climate change and adaptation...

The vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change and variability is increasingly rising. As agriculture is the only source of income for most of them, agricultural adaptation with respect to climate change is vital for their sustenance and to ensure food security. In order to develop appropriate strategies and institutional responses, it...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of outward training programmes as a human resource development tool. For this study 11 organizations practicing outward bound training were selected and both survey as well as case study approaches was used to collect data. The results revealed that there is clear difference between outward...

It is widely accepted that farmer based organizations are important to empower and improve small farmers’ access to markets. However, farmer based organizations (FBO) have not always been successful due to a number of issues related to governance, management, shareholder participation and business operations. Therefore, in this paper, an attempt is...

Farmer companies in Sri Lanka were established with the view to accelerating commercialization in non-plantation agriculture. However, due to various constraints they have failed to achieve expected objectives. Hence, in this study, we review the potential of a successful farmer company from the aspects of farmer perception, farmer company manageme...

The purpose of this study was to understand how level of satisfaction with improved (IIS) and traditional irrigation systems (TIS) influences the level of participation in participatory irrigation management (PIM). Data was collected from 78 farmers selected by systematic random sampling technique from two villages (Sultanabad and Parri) belonging...

In the backdrop of the gradual decline in the performances of the Japanese multipurpose agricultural cooperatives, this paper aims to review the performances of the specialized agricultural cooperatives from the perspective of financial performance. The study is based on secondary data of the agricultural cooperatives published by the Ministry of A...

Japanese agricultural cooperatives (JA) are considered as one of the best forms of farmer collective action in a small farmer dominated agricultural sector. The JA, since its inception, has remained as the backbone of the small farmer dominated agricultural sector. However, in the wake of trade and financial liberalization compounded by the changes...

Accounting software has evolved very rapidly and, compared to other enterprises, agro based operations have been slow to adopt accounting software applications. This paper investigates the factors influencing accounting software adoption in terms of the key characteristics of the businesses' manager, accountant and accounting software. Data was col...

The economy of Pakistan is predominantly agrarian, and optimum utilization of water resources is of paramount importance. Poor production and inefficiency of the farmers are among the main causes of food problem. Searching for appropriate ways to increase productivity and efficiency are important for individual household welfare as well as for coun...

As Asian rice demand is projected to increase by 30% in 2010, a sustainable approach of rice production has become important. In order to fulfill the rice demand for the growing population and with the target rice self-sufficiency of 65%, Malaysia has to increase its rice productivity. As the attainment of sustainability in rice farming is coun...

The fruit and vegetable industry is considered to have the potential to develop backward linkages towards small farmers and so accelerate crop diversification in the paddy dominated non-plantation agriculture in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it may be instrumental to have some understanding of the type of backward linkages used by the industry to procure r...