Strengthening the Resilience of Smallholder Farmers in the Dry Zone to Climate Variability and Extreme Events through an Integrated Approach to Water Management Sri Lanka

The interim evaluation of the Climate Resilient Integrated Water Management Project (CRIWMP) in Sri Lanka indicates that while progress is satisfactory for irrigation and forecasting outputs, drinking water solutions have faced significant setbacks. The project employs an innovative river-basin approach to integrate village irrigation system (VIS) rehabilitation, climate-smart agriculture (CSA), and early warning systems. Key achievements include the rehabilitation of 131 VISs and the installation of 3,112 rainwater harvesting systems. However, the project has struggled with low mobilization of government co-financing, infrequent Project Board meetings, and a critical baseline shift in water source availability for drinking water, which has led to a proposed restructuring to reduce the number of beneficiaries. The evaluation highlights a strong commitment to gender equality, with women making up over 50% of beneficiaries, though gender balance remains poor within project governance and staff.

• The project's overall objective to strengthen smallholder farmer resilience is rated as Moderately Satisfactory, with work progressing well on two of three outputs.
• Output 1, focusing on village irrigation systems and climate-resilient farming, is rated Satisfactory, having upgraded 131 VISs and improved the cropping index of downstream command areas for 223 VISs.
• Output 2, regarding decentralized water supply, is rated Moderately Unsatisfactory due to a baseline shift where originally identified water sources were allocated to other projects, necessitating a Restructuring Proposal.
• Output 3, strengthening observing and forecasting systems, is rated Satisfactory, with the installation of 150 manual rain gauges and the use of Automatic Water Level Recorders (AWLRs) for flood management.
• The project has successfully implemented 3,112 household rainwater harvesting systems, which have proven extremely popular in hilly locations lacking power for groundwater pumping.
• Government of Sri Lanka co-financing mobilization has been low, with only USD 2,154,149 (15.4%) of the promised USD 14 million mobilized by the end of 2020.
• Project governance is hindered by infrequent Project Board meetings, with only five meetings held since July 2017 despite a requirement for at least two annually.
• The project is gender-responsive in its delivery, with women constituting over 50% of beneficiaries, although gender balance in the Project Board and staff is poor (approximately 19%).
• The project's innovative river-basin and landscape approach is being mainstreamed into national policies, including a new agricultural policy and national CSA guidelines published in 2019.
• Environmental risks to sustainability include increasing human-elephant conflict (HEC) and the loss of cattle feeding grounds due to expanded cultivation.
• The project demonstrated effective adaptive management during the COVID-19 pandemic by shifting to digital technologies and expanding home garden programs to 2,600 urban and suburban poor families.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2021). Strengthening the Resilience of Smallholder Farmers in the Dry Zone to Climate Variability and Extreme Events through an Integrated Approach to Water Management Sri Lanka. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp016-interim-evaluation-report-pub.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Strengthening the Resilience of Smallholder Farmers in the Dry Zone to Climate Variability and Extreme Events through an Integrated Approach to Water Management Sri Lanka. 2021. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp016-interim-evaluation-report-pub.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Strengthening the Resilience of Smallholder Farmers in the Dry Zone to Climate Variability and Extreme Events through an Integrated Approach to Water Management Sri Lanka |date=June 2021 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp016-interim-evaluation-report-pub.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2021strengthening, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Strengthening the Resilience of Smallholder Farmers in the Dry Zone to Climate Variability and Extreme Events through an Integrated Approach to Water Management Sri Lanka}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp016-interim-evaluation-report-pub.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }