Stories from Sri Lanka: Visit to Ahugoda SANASA Primary Society

While white rice usually dominates the conversation when it comes to rice, in Sri Lanka, parboiled rice holds the real secret to nutritional density and traditional flavor. During my visit to the Ahugoda SANASA Primary Society (Ahugoda cooperative) in Pothuhera, I learned how local smallholders are turning this parboiled rice into a thriving agribusiness.

Through the APFP-FO4A program—implemented regionally by the Asian Farmers' Association and La Via Campesina, and locally by SANASA International with EU and IFAD funding—the Ahugoda cooperative expanded its parboiled rice operations by distributing mechanized rice boilers to 18 of its members, alongside capacity training.

A few inspiring takeaways from the visit:

• I was glad to see strong gender and youth participation. Out of 75 primary farmers in the society, 40 are women, and 10 are youth.
• Moving from manual processing to mechanized boilers has boosted production to an average of 600 kilograms of parboiled rice per farmer monthly. They are even diversifying into traditional rice varieties and monetizing processing byproducts as animal feed.
• While they face challenges such as tight repayment windows and a 1-month product shelf life, the group is actively laying the groundwork to scale up boiler capacity and establish stable partnerships.

On a personal note, I love Sri Lanka’s local delicacies! At every stop, we were treated to homemade snacks, many crafted from traditional grains and root crops. I was particularly impressed by their eco-friendly practices, like this sweet rice cake called halapa, wrapped naturally in leaves. 

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/irishrd/posts/pfbid02rGyfM5QvWxQ5S9vYWftnF5TCbKzTUux1yudEHk25akY3pu5ecD9rAQkdXdAwLTKXl