The Rotaract Club of the American National College (ANC) has partnered with the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) to boost domestic agriculture, foster economic growth, and promote sustainability. The initiative, named ‘Ran Goyama,’ focuses on Sustainable Development Goal No 8 (SDG8), ‘Decent work and economic growth,’ sought to re-cultivate the abandoned paddy fields in ‘Jayaweeragoda Yaya’ of the Seethawaka Divisional Secretariat Division. The Rotaract Club of ANC made a significant financial contribution towards the purchase of seed paddy.
HARTI, in line with SDG8, has implemented a project titled ‘Participatory Conservation and Productivity Improvement of Paddy-based Ecosystem in Low Country Wet zone’ through which the institute engages with local farming communities to ensure decent and voluntary participation in paddy farming, thereby improving the economic status of their households while contributing to the preservation of a long-neglected ecosystem. HARTI, accordingly, provided guidance and coordination to ensure that agricultural practices followed by farmers are sustainable and environmentally friendly. The partnership grew out of shared concerns regarding the abandonment of paddy land for technical and non-technical leading to serious socio-economic and environmental problems, especially in the low country wet zone.
‘From the ecological point of view, preserving this ecosystem, which had been abandoned for almost.
