The spread of COVID-19 resulted in lockdowns which restricted our mobility. Many had to stay at home, some even with no source of income.
During that time, in Sri Lanka, a personnel from SANASA contacted Lasantha Ambakumbura to offer him a no interest loan from ARISE-Farmers program. The loan is to be used for agricultural production.
Lasantha took out a loan and used it in cultivating varied crops. After several months, he is now harvesting the results of his hard work.
“For me, receiving Rs. 30,000 at that time was like receiving Rs. 300,000. We were housebound and had no earnings. We only had what we had saved… I invested that money into banana cultivation. I also planted turmeric and ginger. In addition, I planted manioc in different places. I think I earned that amount (loan) only by selling manioc harvest. I am yet to harvest bananas,” said Lasantha.
____
The Assuring Resiliency of Family Farmers amidst COVID-19 (ARISE-Farmers) aims to contribute to achieving the SDG goal of ending hunger and poverty by empowering federated farmer groups to meet the needs of their members as well as ensure the health and sufficient food supply during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. ARISE-Farmers builds on the coverage of the IFAD regional grant Asia Pacific Farmers Programme (APFP). The target group is the same as APFP with a specific focus on smallholder men and women farmers/producers needing production assistance for the immediate next cropping season within the lockdown or post lockdown. More info: https://asiapacificfarmersforum.net/
Comments are closed