DOI: http://doi.org/10.4038/tare.v20i1-2.

5369

Tropical Agricultural Research & Extension 20 (1 & 2): 2017

CULTIVATION OF FRUITS AS ALTERNATIVE CROPS IN HAMBANTOTA DISTRICT:

POTENTIAL AND PROSPECTS

DP Kumarage and KKIU Arunakumara*

Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Mapalana,

Kamburupitiya 81100, Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT

Alternative crops are considered to be one of the feasible solutions for common constraints faced by the paddy
farmers. Therefore the present study was undertaken in Hambantota district of Southern Sri Lanka with the ob-
jectives of identifying and assessing the potentials and prospects of different fruits as alternative crops. Through a
structured questionnaire, the primary data were collected from randomly selected Agricultural Instructors (AIs),
Agriculture Research and Production Assistants (ARPAs) and farmers. Fruit cultivation in terms of alternate
crops are found to be dominated by banana (68%) followed by papaya (8%),watermelon (6%), passion fruit
(3.5%) and pomegranate (3.47%).The higher number of farmers per visits (>125 farmers/visit) made by the ma-
jority of Agricultural Instructors (AIs) (72%) has caused an inefficient knowledge dissemination. As a result, the
majority of farmers (52%) have to depend on dealers for the pesticides usage followed by AIs and farmers’ tradi-
tional knowledge. Moreover in order to popularize potentially available fruit crops, meeting the requirement of
local seeds/ planting materials ought to be supplied with subsidy. Furthermore, implementation of few attractive
financial inducements for the non – paddy farmers is vitally important. Water shortage, unavailability of storage
facilities, lack of farmer involvement in processing and value addition of harvest, crop damage by wild animals
are some of the identified constrains. Cultivation of fruits as alternatives crops could be achieved in Hambantota
district through an integrated approach including effective means of knowledge dissemination, farmer support-
ive services and improved facilities for storage, processing and value addition.

Key words: Alternative Crops, Constrains, Fruit Crops, Hambantota District, Potentials, Prospect

INTRODUCTION mental issues (Annon, 2008- 2010).

Being an agricultural country, majority of the
Sri Lankan workforce (34%) is involved in Owing to plenty of tangible merits, cultivation
agro-related livelihoods (Athukorala and Jaya- of alternate crops is considered to be one of
suriya 2012). Paddy, the major crop in the the best options available for both the domes-
country is recorded an annual production and tic and commercial scale farmers in Ham-
land area up to 4.8 million t and 1.09 million bantota district. Instability of commodity pric-
ha respectively (CBSL, 2015). With the uncer- es excluding alternative crops, reduced farm
tainty of rainfall, the risk associated with pad- subsidies, increased pesticide resistance of
dy cultivation has become a matter of great major pests, losses in genetic diversity and
concern. Floods, droughts, pest and disease dietary pattern changes in consumers are
incidences and price fluctuations are also con- found to be the other factors that could stimu-
sidered to be risk factors in the paddy sector. late the interest in cultivating alternative crops
Therefore, the dependency merely on paddy (Sauer and Sallivan, 2000).
creates lots of economic, social and environ-
Cultivation of fruits as alternative crops might
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
02 KUMARAGE DP AND ARUNAKUMARA KKIU: FRUITS AS ALTERNATIVE CROPS IN HAMBANTOTA

provide with additional markets or greater eco- administering pre-tested questionnaire and di-
nomic gains with compared to the other major rect interviews.
crops. Some of the fruit crops are added to a
rotation to break up insect and pest damage, Field Survey
disease cycle, to increase soil tilth and fertility A field survey was performed during the month
or to clean up the weedy fields. Although alter- of August 2015 to October 2016 with randomly
native crops have been identified as one of the selected thirty six AIs out of seventy two
fine solutions to equip the paddy farmers with (Represented 50% of the population). Neces-
a better economic base alone with additional sary information was collected by means of a
income to cater the environment in a friendly structured questionnaire. The information relat-
and sustainable manner and to utilize the avail- ed to alternate fruit crops cultivated in both
able resources maximally and productively; paddy and non-paddy lands in Hambantota dis-
still there is a certain gap of research trict including their potentials, prospects, status
knowledge on the selection and suitability of of the farmers involvements, availability of ex-
alternative crops to an area of concern tension services, farmers awareness on alterna-
(Moncarda et al., 2010). tive crop cultivation, government supports,
credit facilities, land availability, climatic suit-
The study was undertaken to determine alter- ability, water availability, water/ agrochemical/
nate fruits crops suitable for cultivation in pad- fertilizer application frequency, method of cul-
dy and non-paddy lands in Hambantota with tivation and labour utilization etc., data were
the intention of enhancing farmer income and collected through the questionnaire.
to cater to the emerging food diversity needs
while upgrading the farmers‟ living standards. The constraints faced by the farmers were giv-
This study aims to develop suggestions for pol- en a higher degree of attention where the crop-
icy directives to popularize cultivation of alter- specific constraints and possible solutions were
native crops identified in order to propose solutions to get
rid of them. Based on the findings of the first
MATERIALS AND METHOD questionnaire, the second questionnaire was
In Hambantota district the farmers were ran- developed. One hundred and fifty ARPAs
domly selected in order to cover, 576 Grama (representing 25% of GN divisions) were ran-
Niladhari (GN) divisions under 12 Divisional domly selected for the second questionnaire.
Secretariats (DS). The relevant data were col-
lected through primary and secondary sources. The third questionnaire was developed on the
Climatological data (i.e.: maximum and mini- basis of the findings of the first and the second
mum temperature, total rainfall, average rela- questionnaires and information was collected
tive humidity and average wind velocity) were through a purposive sampling technique.
collected from Agunakolapelessa and We- Twenty five farmers were selected randomly
erawila Agriculture Research Centers. Data and proportionately for the third questionnaire.
related with the soil types of the DS divisions
in the studied area were obtained from relevant Data Analysis
secondary sources. Data related with the The collected data were tabulated and analyzed
amount of available lands, non-cultivated lands using descriptive (i.e.: bar chart and pie chart)
etc., were also collected from district Agrarian and inferential statistical tools (i.e.: Chi-Squire
service Centers. Information on government test) with minitab17 software.
subsidy programmes was collected from De-
partment of Agriculture and Coconut Develop-
ment Board. Primary data were collected
through various means including a field survey
 Tropical Agricultural Research & Extension 20 (1 & 2): 2017 03
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION to minimize the crop damages. According to
Climatological Data in Hambantota Dis- AIs and ARPA Officers; banana, papaw, pom-
trict egranate, passion fruit, water melon, mango,
Though Hambantota district is located in dry cashew, pineapple and wood apple are the ma-
zone of Sri Lanka, was the average annual jor fruit crops cultivated in the areas (Figure
rainfall is less than 1250 mm, slight climatic 2).
variations are reported in different Agro-
Ecological Regions (AERs)such as DL1b, DL5 Number of farmers
and IL1b.Since the growth and development of As per the records of Perming (2013), the ex-
crops thoroughly depend on the rainfall re- tent of banana cultivation in Sri Lanka ex-
ceived by the area where an irrigation system ceeded 48,044 ha implying that country‟s fruit
has not been placed (Bareja, 2011), the production is dominated by banana cultiva-
amount of water received by means of rainfall tion. Similarly, banana is recorded to have the
is one of the key factors considered for crop highest extent with the share of 68% of total
selection (Peris, 2006). Therefore, the amount cultivated areas of fruit crops in Hambantota
of rain fall is studied prior to the selection of district, while all the other fruit crops are rec-
a crop for cultivation purpose in the con- orded to have less than 10% contribution. Ac-
cerned area. The highest total rain fall cording to the farmers, the popularity of bana-
(1,585.8 mm) was recorded in 2012 followed na is basically due to its higher profit margin
by a drastically decrement of amount of total compared to the paddy cultivation. As far as
rain fall (Figure 1). farmers‟ point of view, there are hardly any
issues associated than water availability for
A decreasing tendency of total rainfall in both banana cultivation. Furthermore, as reported
DL1 and DL5 AERs was observed (Figure 1). by Shubert (2004) also, available soil type
Thus rainfall might have a negative impact on (Reddish Brown Earth) in the area has a sig-
paddy production in those zones. Water avail- nificant contribution to the progressive growth
ability in the tanks of the area has also been and yield performances of banana.
severely affected by the low rainfall. There-
fore farmers tend to shift into alternative It is revealed that the success of the passion
crops which require lesser water require- fruit cultivation in the area is due to the early
ments. Unexpected high wind conditions are support extended by the government through
also found to be a limiting factor in some crop providing farmers with quality seeds and
cultivations (i.e.: banana) in the studied areas. trainings. Poor government support on the
Therefore establishment of wind barriers in other hand for the other fruit crops has dis-
particular areas is learnt to be a good practice couraged farmers. Owing to the convenience,

Figure 1: Annual rainfall (mm) of Agro- Figure 2: Percentage of farmers engaged in

Ecological Regions DL1 and DL5 in Ham- fruit crop cultivation in Hambantota dis-
bantota district from 2012 to 2016 trict
04 KUMARAGE DP AND ARUNAKUMARA KKIU: FRUITS AS ALTERNATIVE CROPS IN HAMBANTOTA

lesser water and fertilizer requirements and cases of banana and papaya. With the availa-
resistance towards the pest and diseases, culti- bility of intermediate buyers who facilitate
vation of passion fruit could be considered as farmers with selling their products, pomegran-
an ideal alternative crop to be promoted in ate farmers could earn a favorable income
Hambantota district. consistently. Therefore, cultivation of pome-
granate is found to be a fine solution for the
As learnt through the survey results, passion water scarcity in the district. Farmers‟ en-
fruit has been widely grown in both We- gagement in fruit cultivation indifferent DS
eraketiya and Walasmulla DS divisions. Con- division is presented in Figure 3.
sidering the similar climatic conditions availa-
ble in Beliatta, Walasmulla and in some parts The fruit cultivation is dominated by Banana
of Udayala and Tangalle, passion fruit could except Walasmulla and Weeraketiya DS divi-
be promoted in those areas too. Furthermore, sions where passion fruit is found to be the
if a reliable source of irrigation is in place, the major fruit crop. In Tangalle DS division,
rest of the areas too could be considered for there is an appreciatory trend of cultivating
passion fruit cultivation. water melon more or less similarly to the ba-
nana cultivation. Significant engagement in
Pomegranate, which secures higher demand pomegranate cultivation is shown mainly in
and higher prices is not often cultivated by the Hambantota, Lunugamwehera and Amba-
farmers in the concerned areas. However, the lanthota DS divisions. According to the Ex-
crop could be found in the areas such as Ham- port Development Board (2016), Sri Lankan
bantota, Lunugamwehera, Ambalantota, fruit export is increasing steadily as we export
Agunukolapelessa, Suriyawewa and Thissa- both fresh and processed fruits. Therefore,
maharama DS divisions at relatively small farmers should be aware of emerging trends
scale. It is learnt that this can be expanded in export markets and the relevant standards
into a large extent if the constrains associated upon which they could produce their prod-
with cultivation were addressed. With the eas- ucts. Although there is a high potential to
iness of cultivation, lesser requirements of grow cashew in this area with the fullest sup-
labour and pesticides, cultivation of pome- port and encouragement of the government,
granate could be a profitable option as in the

Figure 3: Fruit cultivation (%) in different DS divisions in Hambantota district in 2016 based
on number of farmers
 Tropical Agricultural Research & Extension 20 (1 & 2): 2017 05
cultivation of cashew is yet to be popularized time experiences, which in fact has become
among the farmers of the area. the key factor of the success of their carrier.
This traditional knowledge has been trans-
According to National food production pro- ferred from generation to generation orally.
gramme (2016- 2018), per capita fruit con- However, at present farmers are provided with
sumption of Sri Lankan people in 2015 is novel knowledge and technologies through the
114g/ day which is significantly lower than service of AIs. Frequent farmer visits and
that of the recommended level (200g/day). providing farmers with the knowledge on nov-
Therefore, government has taken actions to el cultivation techniques are amongst the ma-
produce 2.2 million of planting material of jor responsibilities of AIs. Majority of AIs
fruit crops and has planned to establish 54 (64%) conduct 6-10 training programmes per
fruit villages in selected districts under the season. However, only 3% of the AIs are re-
“Fruit Village Development Programme” en- ported to conduct more than 11 workshops per
hancing the cultivation of fruit crops.It was season. Frequent visits to farmers are found to
noticed at the interviews, that farmers of the be a hard task for the AIs, thus majority of
area appreciate such innovations and they are them (72%) visit around 125 farmers within a
waiting for more encouragements. Other than season. As a result, consistent update of farm-
such supports, awareness and promotion pro- ers‟ knowledge is hardly achieved.
grammes to awake the farmers‟ perception
are highly important. Usage of Pesticide
A majority (52%) of farmers depends on the
The vast majority of farmers (80%) have not information provided by dealers on pesticide
obtained a proper education even up to the required for their cultivations, as compared
Ordinary Level. Despite the poor educational their own experience and help from AIs
background, farmers are equipped with the (Figure 4). A considerable number of farmers
farming knowledge gained through the life (29%) use their own experience in making
decisions on selection and use of pesticides as
a result there is a possibility to over-use pesti-
cides in the study area.
Table 1: Percentage of Pesticide usage for
different fruit crops
As revealed by the results, pesticides are not
Crop Pesticides Usage % used in passion fruit orchards while they are
High Moderate Low Not used at lower ranges in banana, papaw, and
use pomegranate orchards. However, the success
Banana - - 100 - of water melon cultivations is reported to be
Water melon 60 40 - - highly depended on the usage of pesticides.
Papaw - - 100 -
Pomagranate - - 100 - Seed Subsidy
As presented in table 2, seed subsidy pro-
Passion fruit - - - 100

Table 2: Seed/planting material subsidy and selection of fruit crops

Seed subsidy Selection of fruit crops (%)
Banana Papaw Passion fruit Pomegranate Water melon
Provided by govt. (through Department 0 0 80 40 0
of Agriculture)
06 KUMARAGE DP AND ARUNAKUMARA KKIU: FRUITS AS ALTERNATIVE CROPS IN HAMBANTOTA

fied with the both the quality and quantity of

the local seeds provided.

None of ARPAOs was satisfied with the plas-

tic tray subsidy. Occasionally, papaw and ba-
nanas are said to be transported using these
trays once the middle agents visit the farms.
Similar to the fertilizer subsidy given for pad-
dy, farmers should be provided with subsidies
Figure 4: Sources of Information for selec- for short duration crops cultivate in the same
tion and use of Pesticides piece of land. It was further noticed at the in-
grammes (50% and 100%) have been intro- terview sessions with Mahaweli farmers that
duced by the government for various crops. subsidies are not properly distributed. Though
fertilizer subsidy has not been recommended
by the government for alternate crops, some
A linear relationship was observed between exceptions are reported for the crops such as
seed subsidy and selection of crops. As shown banana. Therefore, commencement of fertiliz-
in table 2, seed subsidy is believed to be one er subsidy for alternative crops would be a
of the major reasons for the engagement of great motivation to uplift of the alternative
more farmers in passion fruit cultivation crop cultivation.
which on the other hand implies that cultiva-
tion of certain crops would be encouraged Water Scarcity
through the introduction of subsidy pro- Low land paddy is irrigated by the Depart-
grammes. Farmers of the study area are of the ment of Irrigation in collaboration with De-
view that the planting materials of fruit crops partment of Agriculture. The main water sup-
are more expensive than that of paddy. If the plying bodies of the district have been classi-
planting materials were available at an afford- fied as ‘Maha wari’, ‘Sulu wari’ and
able cost, farmers might intend to shift to the ‘Mahaweli’. Lands without any irrigation fa-
cultivation of alternative crops. cility are cultivated with both paddy and alter-
native crops as rain-fed crops. Government
In order to address the issues related to fruit has implemented some policies through
cultivation, the government has launched a which water supply of ‘Maha wari’ and ‘Sulu
fruit crop development programme through wari’ has been restricted to paddy.
which tissue-cultured banana plants and seed-
lings of papaw, mango, orange, pineapple, Yet, the restriction has been lifted to cultivate
passion fruit, rambutan, pomegranate, citrus, alternative crops of six month duration and
guava have been distributed among the farm- one year for banana in the lands owned by
ers by spending Rs 4,275,500 in 2016. More- Mahaweli Authority. About 40% of alterna-
over since 2016, the government has allocated tive crops are allowed to be cultivated in
about Rs 652,500 for popularizing underuti- those lands. Majority (42%) of ARPAOs stat-
lized crops such as Katuanoda, Uguressa in ed that the available water is not adequate for
Hambantota district. paddy. Yet, according to some farmers, the
supplied water is not adequate for alternative
With regard to the seed/planting material sub- crops grown in paddy lands also. At the same
sidy, majority of ARPAOs stated that farmers time, mid-season water supplying remains
are satisfied with the quality of the improved uncertain due to the lower level of water in
fruit crop seeds. However, they are not satis- tanks and some other unidentified reasons.
Water availability for the crops that yields
 Tropical Agricultural Research & Extension 20 (1 & 2): 2017 07
within less than six months seems to be ade- selected23farmers by allocating unit cost of
quate. Perming (2013) reported that water Rs 35,000 for ½ acre. Water pumps of fuel
shortage is a greater problem for the paddy type and electric type have been supplied to 9
farmers compared to banana farmers. Uplands (Rs 22,500/ Unit cost) and 13 farmers (Rs
are irrigated with water pumped from „Maha 16,000/Unit cost) respectively. Rain water
wari‟, „Sulu wari’ channels. Yet, regarding harvesting tanks have been constructed in the
some of the Mahaweli areas such as areas such as Maththala, Thissa, Ambalantota,
„Ihaladikwewa‟, „Medakotawaya‟ and areas Meegahajadura. However, the capacity of
under „Chandrikawewa‟, farmers are not al- such tanks is limited to a certain extent.
lowed to pump water from the local channels. Therefore, other methods of water supplying
Legal actions are also taken in this regards. such as „Ussana‟ water supply scheme need to
Due to silt deposition, the capacity of the be launched in these areas.
tanks has been reduced. As identified through
the survey, „Jasindeniya‟, and Chena cultivation in Hambantota district
„Walawwaththa‟ tanks in Katuwanashow starts with „Maha‟ rainfall in October each
poor performance in supplying water. There- year. During the dry spell in August, farmers
fore there is an urgent need to engage in re- commence forest firing which is well known
pairing of them. as „Nikini Paaluwa‟. A little rainfall received
after September 15 is called „Belithora
In the areas such as Udayala, both the paddy Wessa‟. The heaviest rainfall occurs in No-
and alternative crops are cultivated with vember with the monsoonal rainfall. Due to
„Maha wari‟ and „Sulu wari’ water supply heavy rainfall, crops are damaged in areas
through „Muruthawela‟ and „Urubokuwewa‟ such as Dambulla resulting in price increase
irrigation projects. Therefore cultivation is in the month of December. Therefore most
not hampered by water scarcity in the area. farmers in the district target in this time peri-
However, areas such as Weeragaswewa GN od are to release their products to the market.
division, where single irrigation project
Urubokuwewa is operated,farmers are suf- During rainy period, over flowed water from
fered by water scarcity. Non-irrigated uplands „Debarawewa‟ is collected to „Thissawewa‟
in the areas such as Hambantota, and from there to the „Yoda wewa‟. In addi-
Weekadawala, Tangle, Meegasara- kemegala tion to it „Aara‟ water is also collected to
are also severely affected by water scarcity. „Yoda wewa‟. When „Yodawewa‟ over flows,
flooding conditions are experience in down-
Some of the farmers use drinking tap water stream areas. „Lunugamwehera wam iwra
for irrigation purposes. For an instant, farmers third irrigation project‟ is supposed to over-
in Hambantota area are engaged in pomegran- come these constrains. Moreover, another irri-
ate cultivation very successfully even with the gation scheme should be commenced to sup-
use of tap water. Though passion fruit has ply water to „Kawanthissapura‟.
been introduced to Weeraketiya and Walas-
mulla areas, the cultivations are at risk during „Koggallakadawara tank‟ and „Ridiyagama
the dry spell. In order to address the water tank‟ store water throughout the year. Thus
scarcity problem, water pumps, agro wells the nearby farmers are facilitated by those
and micro irrigation schemes are also sug- tanks. Furthermore upon the request made by
gested. More than 50% of the micro irrigation the farmers, extra water from Mahaweli is
subsidy schemes have been targeted to be supplied through „Kudajullwewa‟ which is
launched in 2016 in Hambantota district. solve the water problem around Koggalla ar-
About ½ acre and ¼ acre sprinkler systems ea.
have been targeted to distribute among the Some of the anikets should also be repaired
08 KUMARAGE DP AND ARUNAKUMARA KKIU: FRUITS AS ALTERNATIVE CROPS IN HAMBANTOTA

with immediate effect. In this regards, It is learnt that the damages caused by mon-
„Thalwatta‟, „Palladeniya‟ anikets need much keys and giant squirrels are very severe with
attention. A dam is needed to be made in regards to the alternative crops in Hambantota
„Murungasyaya‟ and „Gagurandeniya‟ in district. Beliatta and Tangalle areas were
Katuwana. Medaketiya „Dolaaara‟ in Beliatta identified as the worst affected areas while
needs to be repaired. Another identified issue their damages are critical in Idiketiya, Eldeni-
through the survey is that the „Kekirio bata‟, ya and Ambagasdeniya areas as well. This has
„Kiramaaara‟ projects are not operated suc- caused some farmers to abandon their cultiva-
cessfully. Irrigation department does not tions. Therefore a sustainable solution is
maintain „Kirama aara‟. „Pattiyawela‟ dam is needed from the relevant authorities. Thissa,
underutilized causing water problems in Dam- Suriyawewa, Lunugamwehera, Ambalantota
mulla west GN division. Water that is collect- and Hambantota are identified as severely af-
ed from some lands of Walasmulla area is fected divisions by elephants‟ damage.
called as „Odiya‟ is used only for cultivation
of paddy. Farmers in such areas are not en- Damages caused by cows or buffaloes are al-
gaged in cultivating other crops. Some of the so a matter of concern though they are not
farmers still meet their water requirements considered to be emerging issues. Koggalla,
through „Bibula‟ in the areas such as Beliat- Lunugamwehera, Iththawekada, Parakkrama-
takahawaththa GN division and Walasmul- pura, Yodakandiya and Wijithapura GN divi-
lagalwadiya, Maapitakanda GN divisions etc. sions are experiencing cow/ buffalo problem
severely. At the same time, due to the appro-
Wild Animal Damages to fruit crops priate measures that have been taken by the
Wild animal damage is one of the major con- Divisional Secretary and some farmer organi-
cerns irrespectively the crop. The cultivations zations cow/ buffalo damages have not been
are severely affected by the damages of wild reported in the other areas. Furthermore, a
animals (Schubert, 2004; Sandika and mechanism is in place through which such
Withana, 2010). Nearly 39% of the area has damages are compensated.
been damaged by wild elephants, monkeys,
giant squirrels, buffaloes and peacocks Elephant damages are hardy reported around
(Figure 5). the areas located near the electrical fences. In
this context, physical barriers such as trenches

Figure 5: Estimated land area (%) damaged by wild animals in DS divisions of Hambantota
 Tropical Agricultural Research & Extension 20 (1 & 2): 2017 09
are suggested to be built. At the same time, Farmers‟ decision on selecting certain crops
shifting these animals to their natural habitats seemed to be linked with the profit gained
or to sanctuaries would be helpful to mini- (Table 3). In this context, Perming (2013) re-
mize the damages. Manual surveillance of the ported that the competition among the paddy
fields is time consuming, highly ineffective farmers has caused dramatically letting down
and expensive as the persons hired (Prasher et the price of paddy in certain seasons.
al., 2015), thus electronic surveillance system
is believed to be a good solution. Electronic It is evident that farmers tend to cultivate cer-
surveillance system enables the farmers to tain fruit crops due to the higher profit mar-
protect their fields and orchards effectively gins. Furthermore food security through easy
without any human intervention. access to healthy and balance foods need to be
considered. Banana is found to be the highest
Other issues profitable crop cultivated in paddy lands irre-
Proper storage facilities are a fundamental spectively the initial high cost associated with
requirement with regards to a shelf life of a banana establishment. However, by engaging
crop. However, present findings reveal that banana cultivation, farmers have to wait at
lack of storage facilities hamper the produc- least one year to obtain the harvest. This in
tion of alternative crops in the district. If the fact in certain areas has caused farmers to shift
farmers are provided with export opportuni- to short-term crops which have been encour-
ties, products should be handled with great aged by the government agencies as well. In
care thus government intervention is needed. terms of financial benefits, pomegranate is
found to be the most suitable crop which gen-
Processing and value addition are to be con- erates an income one year after crop establish-
sidered as important steps which could ulti- ment, yet most of farmers reported to be una-
mately increase the farmers income. Yet, a ware of the economical merits of pomegranate
very little number of farmers (11%) have en- cultivation. The profit of the other crops
gaged in processing and value addition of pro- changes with the period that the farmers culti-
duced fruits. However, it is learnt that the vate them. These findings revealed that some
some intermediates earn higher profit margins farmers of the district are well aware of sea-
than farmers due to their engagements in pro- sonal price changes and thus cropping calen-
cessing and value addition. Meantime the dars are made accordingly.
government has targeted to develop agricul-
tural based industry by providing the farmers CONCLUSION
with grinders, dryers, sealers and balances The survey conducted in Hambantota during
etc., at a rate of 50% subsidy (Anon, 2016). 2015- 2016 revealed that farmers preferred to
cultivate banana in in paddy lands for eco-
Cost Benefit Analysis nomical gains. A strong relationship was ob-
Table 3: Cost and Benefit of cultivated crops
Fruit Crop Costs (Rs/ ha) Income (Rs/ha) Benefit (Rs/ ha)
Banana (Kolikuttu) (/ year) 903,500 3,500,000 + 2,596,500
Papaw (/ year) 492,000 880,000 + 388,000
Pomegranate(per year) 1,317,500 2,500,000 + 1,182,500
Passion (/ year) 75,625 375,000 + 299,375
Water melon (/ crop cycle) 155,500 262,500 + 107,000
Paddy (/ crop cycle) 167,500 187,500 + 20,000
10 KUMARAGE DP AND ARUNAKUMARA KKIU: FRUITS AS ALTERNATIVE CROPS IN HAMBANTOTA

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