The Southern Province of Sri Lanka is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. It is the 7th largest province by area and is home to 2.5 million people, the 3rd most populated province. The province is bordered by Sabaragamuwa Province and Uva Province to the North, Eastern Province to the Northeast, Western Province to the Northwest and the Indian Ocean to the South, West and East. The Province's capital is Galle. The Southern Province is consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Subsistence farming and fishing is the main source of income for the vast majority of the people of this region.
Southern Provincial Council is the only Council out of 9 Provincial Councils in the country which is having a statute on renewable energy (Statute No 02 of 2007 of Southern Provincial Council). This is a testimony for its commitment to utilize alternative energy for domestic as well as economic activities.

Overview of Agriculture Sector of Southern Province

(Including Livestock & Fisheries)

Agriculture Sector

Population of Southern Province is around 1.1 million and around 30% is engaged in agriculture. There are about 460,211 farm families in 2,121 villages. Provincial contribution to the national agriculture GDP is 16 % (Central Bank Annual Report 2018). The potential growth sectors of the Southern Province constitute crop agriculture, fisheries farming and livestock along with related industries and trade. Out of the total land area of the Province, 41 % is used for crop cultivation. Paddy is the predominant crop in the province followed by tea, other field crops (OFC), coconut, cinnamon and rubber.

Livestock Sector

Given below are some vital statics of the livestock sector of Southern Province.

According to 2018 Annual Report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the livestock sector contributes 0.6 % to GDP. According to the Department of Animal Production & Health year 2018 statistical information, Southern Provincial cattle population was 62,989. Buffalo population was 72,296. Provincial goat and swine population were 15,560 and 4,561 respectively. As a Province in year 2018, Southern Provincial daily average milk production of cow milk was 44,535 Liters and buffalo milk 38,300 Liters and its contribution to the national milk production was 6.11 %. The provincial milk production has been increasing during the last few years by means of 28,102,533 million milk Liters in 2016 up to 30,234,988 million milk Liters in 2018. Broiler chicken meat production in year 2018 was 4,677,971 kg.

Fisheries Sector

Given below are some vital statics of the livestock sector of Southern Province.

The Southern Province has a 150 km long costal belt and there are over 32,000 active marine fishermen deploying over 6,500 fishing boats of various types.

Technology Application Priorities of Southern Province

Given below is the summary of technology application priorities of the Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries sub sectors of the Southern Province.

Twenty-two technology applications have been identified for the consideration of the TSSC Project and they are listed in the above table. Provincial priorities are indicated under three levels; “High”, “Medium” and “Low”. Applications having high prospects for business development and high prospects for further research and development also have been identified and marked as “high”.