Last Month in Impact - April 2025

Dear Reader,

We achieved two important milestones in April:

1. Conducted the first IDAT Steering Committee meeting since the new administration was elected in 2024.

2. Attended the all-stakeholder meeting for the Nutrition Program hosted by the Presidential Secretariat.

The Steering Committee meeting marked a pivotal moment in Sri Lanka’s journey toward a digitally empowered agricultural ecosystem. The decisions made are a transformative step toward realising the full potential of digital agriculture in the country and reinforcing government ownership and inter-agency collaboration.

The Nutrition Program meeting was a critical step for ensuring the continuation of the rice fortification initiative and maintaining a level of coordination needed to make the program a success.

You can find details about milestones below.

Sincerely,

Emaali Gunasekara
CEO

5th IDAT Steering Committee Meeting

The 5th Steering Committee Meeting of the Inclusive Digital Agriculture Transformation (IDAT) Programme was convened on 21st April 2025, marking a pivotal moment in Sri Lanka’s journey toward a digitally empowered agricultural ecosystem.

It was the first Steering Committee held under the new administration elected in late 2024, and featured the participation of high-ranking government officials and technical experts. Key government representatives included Ministry Secretaries from five Cabinet Ministries, the Advisor to the Hon. President, and the Chairman of the National Digital Task Force. The session was co-chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, and the Ministry of Digital Economy.

Out of the 20 strategic agenda points discussed, several landmark decisions were unanimously adopted:

• Empowering the IDAT Programme through a Cabinet Memorandum to institutionalize its mandate.

• Legalising data sharing among stakeholders via Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs).

• Hosting the IDAT database on a secure Sri Lankan government server to ensure national data sovereignty.

• Finalising the timeline for system Go-Live, enabling the democratisation of the IDAT Decision Support System (DSS) to public sector end-users.

Nutrition Program Meeting at Presidential Secretariat

An all-stakeholder meeting was held at the Presidential Secretariat to review the progress of the rice fortification initiative and its integration into the national school meal programme. Representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministries of Education, Agriculture, Health and Mass Media, Rural Development, and Finance, the Department of National Budget, National Food Promotion Board, World Food Programme, Connect to Care, PATH, and Gates Foundation were in attendance.

The key outcomes and agreements were as follows:

• The rice fortification program will continue in its current format, reaching 500,000 schoolchildren across 12 districts

• An effectiveness study and a micronutrient deficiency survey will be conducted to establish a baseline and evaluate project performance

• Project continuation will be ensured by identifying short-term budget reallocations

• Expansion of the rice fortification program will depend on results of the evaluations and a future policy decision

We stressed the need for coordination and a clear and prompt policy decision to prevent loss of donor interest and momentum.

Thought Leadership

Emaali discusses the potential of rice fortification to combat nutrition-related health issues in her latest op-ed.

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