Academic Partnerships
Lifelong Learning for Farmers Project
Commonwealth of Learning (COL) Lifelong learning for farmers (L3F) project
Commonwealth of Learning (COL) Lifelong learning for farmers (L3F) project
♦ One of the main outreach projects of the OUSL is the Lifelong Learning for famers project which is funded by the Commonwealth of Learning. Department of Export Agriculture (DEA), the technical Department of the government of Sri Lanka that is entrusted with the research, development and extension activities of the export agriculture crops is a partner and a beneficiary of this project.
♦ The export agriculture sector of Sri Lanka contributes to 17% of total export earnings of agricultural sector and is the second largest after tea sector. This sector bears significance as a source of revenue from international to rural level.
♦ The Department of Export Agriculture (DEA) is at present engaged with more than 300,000 farming families distributed over 17 districts in the island and they are served through 300 field officers.
♦ The members of the farm families depend on extension officers on technical knowledge on crop production to marketing and to get benefits from government promotional schemes such as subsidies. One field officer carter to nearly 1000 farming families and expected to provide training, technical support and disburse government promotional schemes.
♦ This heavy dependency on limited resources poses challenge for intensive capacity building and offering technical support. There is clear potential to expand the EA crops into non-conventional areas including those in the north and east of the country.
♦ It is envisaged that the mobile app, which is developed under phase 1 will bridge the communication gap between the farmers and extension officers effectively and contribute to enhance the return of investment in agricultural subsidy schemes. Given the extensive penetration of mobile connections in the rural communities in Sri Lanka, which is 149% of the total population in 2020, mobile phone is the most cost effective and convenient mode of information dissemination at present. The app that is being developed under this project will contain the following features.
Objectives
♦ The aim of this project is to develop a mobile app as a component of the proposed eLearning platform for the farmers and stakeholders engaged in cultivation and production of export agriculture-based products.
♦ Contribute to knowledge empowerment of the farming community and promote export agricultural sector as a means of ensuring their livelihood security
♦ Offer and affordable technology meditation solution to increase the return on investment of agricultural subside scheme.
♦ This eLearning platform is specifically meant to empower and enhance participation of farming community to promote export agricultural sector in Sri Lanka.
Project Consortium
Project Management Team
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Dr. Prasad Senadheera | Team Leader Senior Lecturer, Botany |
| Dr. Menaka Ranasinghe | Senior Lecturer Electrical & Computer Engineering/OUSL |
| Dr. Buddika Aruggoda | Head of Department Agriculture Engineering/OUSL |
| Ms. Geetha Kulasekara | Senior Lecturer CETMe/OUSL |
| Ms. Wasana Uduwela | Senior Lecturer Computer Science/OUSL |
| Mr. Kasun Aratthanage | Lecturer CITES/OUSL |
| Dr. Anura Wickramasinghe | Bursar/OUSL |
| Ms. Chandi Perera | Assistant Director International Relations Unit/OUSL |
| Mr. Arunaka Ranawaka | Assistant Director Department of Cinnamon Development |
| Mr. Aruna Dissanayake | Deputy Director (Communication) Department of Export Agriculture |
| Mr. Gayath Jayathilake | ICT Officer Department of Export Agriculture |
Deliverables
– ExpoSpice: A groundbreaking mobile app that revolutionizes agricultural communication, connecting stakeholders with knowledge centers and markets for a smarter and more integrated agricultural ecosystem.
– ExpoSpice serves as the digital agricultural extension assistant for the export agriculture sector, addressing a wide array of stakeholders, including farmers, producers, sellers, buyers, learners, and agricultural managers.
This mobile app provides a sustainable solution to a national challenge: the communication gap between stakeholders and knowledge centers, and it aims to foster the future of smart and sustainable agriculture.
Link to Download the App:
COL has supported the app development but has not yet tested it.
