Uva Province is the Sri Lanka's second least populated province, with around 1,259,880 people. It consists of two districts: Badulla (2,861 km2) and Moneragala (5,639 km2). The provincial capital is Badulla. Other major cities are; Bandarawela, Haputale, Monaragala & Welimada. Uva is bordered by Eastern, Southern and Central provinces. Its major tourist attractions are Dunhinda falls, Diyaluma Falls, Rawana Falls, the Yala National Park (lying partly in the Southern and Eastern Provinces) and Gal Oya National Park (lying partly in the Eastern Province). The Gal Oya hills and the Central mountains are the main uplands, while the Mahaweli river and the Senanayake Samudraya and Maduru Oya Reservoirs are the major waterways. There are 26 divisional secretariats in Uva Province; 15 in Badulla District and 11 in Moneragala District.

Overview of Agriculture Sector of Uva Province (Including Livestock & Fisheries)

There are about 200,000 farm families in 3,304 villages. Provincial contribution to the national agriculture GDP is 30% (Central Bank Annual Report 2017). Employment in agriculture sector is 53.3% (Department of Census & Statistics 2017). The potential growth sectors of the Uva Province constitute crop agriculture, livestock farming and fisheries along with agriculture related industries and trade. Out of the total land area of the Province, 31% is used for crop cultivation. Paddy is the predominant crop in the province followed by the other field crops (OFC) and vegetable and floriculture. According to 2016 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 2016 statistical information, Uva Provincial cattle population was 111,840 and Badulla and Monaragala districts cattle population was 56,924 and 54,914 respectively. Buffalo population was 4,132 in Badulla district and 50,236 in Monaragala district. Provincial goat, swine and poultry population were 16,232, 4,206 and 381,230 respectively. Comparing the milk production with other provinces in the country, Uva Province holds 4th place by producing 46,959,773 Liters milk in year 2016. Beef and mutton production in year 2016 was 1,263,584 kg and 40,145 kg respectively. The egg production was 71,335. As a Province in year 2016, Uva Provincial daily average milk production of cow milk was 84,581 Liters and buffalo milk 22,400 Liters and its contribution to the national national milk production was 11%. The provincial milk production has been increasing during the last few years by means of 35.51 million milk Liters in 2013 up to 46.95 million milk Liters in 2016.

Technology Application Priorities of Uva Province

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

Fifteen 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”.