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Table 4.1 Key agricultural strategy areas identified by the Ministry of Agriculture, 2015
Ensured food safety
4. Food safety: Organic agriculture/natural agriculture (...)
Environmental friendliness
5. Natural resource management and climate change adaptation
• Soil conservation
• Water management
• Agriculture climate forecast
• Disaster risk reduction
(...)

Table 4.7 Main agricultural laws, 2016
- Law: Soil Conservation Act
- Reference: Act No. 24 of 1996
- Overview: For the enhancement and productive capacity of the soil and to prevent erosion and damage from floods
Action has been initiated to repeal the Act and bring forward a new act to remove existing deficiencies; a draft of the new act has been submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture for obtaining cabinet approval
-Viewed at: Department of Agriculture. Viewed at: http://www.doa.gov.lk/images/stories/site/PDF/Acts/soil%20conservation%20act%20no.24%20of%201996.pdf
(...)

The fertilizer subsidy has traditionally been provided to paddy farmers in order to improve agricultural sector growth, reach self-sufficiency, reduce the costs of production, and obtain the desired level of soil conservation. Since 2005, the three main fertilizers used in paddy production (urea, TSP, and MOP) have been made available at a subsidized price of Rs 350 per 50 kg bag, in straight form. In 2011, the Government made the fertilizer subsidy available to all crops.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development is the main regulator for the sector; it produced a "Fisheries Sector Development Strategy" for the period 2010-13 that focused on the following elements: fish production enhancement; fisheries social community development; fishery inputs; training and extension; research, development and capacity building; infrastructure development; fish marketing; trade and investment; resources conservation; and fisheries development in the Northern Province. The authorities expect that a new policy for the sector will be published in 2017.

Table 4.11 Government entities in the fish sector, 2016
Entity Role
National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) Conducting research and conservation activities on all living and non-living aquatic resources in Sri Lanka

National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA) Development and management of all freshwater aquatic resources including aquaculture and sea farming

Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) Management, regulation, conservation and development of fisheries and aquatic resources
(...)

Also in 2015, the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment and the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) issued a circular to prevent illegal soil mining and the misuse of licences. Thus, pursuant to Environment Circular 02/2015, licences for non-commercial purposes would be issued for only up to 35 cubes of soil and gravel mining. For mining of more than 35 cubes, further decisions on issuing the licence would need to be taken by a number of other authorities.

Sri Lanka has mainly relied on domestic indigenous biomass and hydro as the major sources of its energy needs – they account for approximately 55%, followed by imports of fossil fuels – and has been pursuing new alternative energy sources such as solar and wind. Since its last review, Sri Lanka has diversified its energy sources and commenced using coal, mostly for electricity generation. As a developing country with increasing infrastructure and development needs, Sri Lanka faces many development challenges including increasing energy demand. State owned enterprises are substantially involved in the production or distribution of energy.

Pursuant to Sri Lanka's energy policies, the country is emphasising more sources of renewable energy in lieu of fossil fuels. Slightly more than half of the country's primary energy demand was met by indigenous sources (e.g. biomass and hydro) in 2014. Imports of petroleum (including petroleum products) were significant and generally trended upward during the review period. Crude petroleum imports reached a peak in 2014. Sri Lanka also recently commenced using coal as an alternative energy source, mainly in electricity generation, and particularly since 2011 when infrastructure was adapted to its use. Thus, coal imports generally rose during the period 2011-15. New alternative sources of energy, mainly solar and wind have increased steadily, but only account for 10% of Sri Lanka's electricity generation. Biomass remains the most important source of energy, and is domestically sourced, accounting for 42% of Sri Lanka's primary energy demand in 2014 (Table 4.14). Sri Lanka mainly imports crude petroleum from the United Arab Emirates and petroleum products from Singapore and India.

Table 4.14 Energy statistics, 2010-15
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Primary energy (ktoe)
Biomass 4,954.0 4,944.4 4,861.7 4,814.3 4,911.2 ..
Hydro 1,197.2 964.2 654.4 1,442.4 875.9 ..
New renewable 179.7 178.4 180.6 286.7 301.2 ..
(...)

In 2008, the National Energy Policy and Strategies of Sri Lanka was implemented to address the many challenges faced by the sector, in particular to ensure its ability to meet future demand and manage the balance between domestic and imported energy resources. The Policy, which is currently in operation, contains twelve specific targets and milestones to be achieved when implementing the energy sector strategies: electrification of households; targeted subsidies; fuel diversity and security; non-conventional renewable energy (NRE)-based electricity in the grid; electricity pricing; petroleum subsector regulation and product pricing; oil and gas exploration; bunkering; supply-side energy efficiency; demand-side energy efficiency; national energy database and integrated national energy planning; and rural electrification.