Unveiling potential of seaweed farming in Sri Lanka

SRI Lanka's coastline, with its pristine beauty and bountiful resources, has long been seen as an asset.

- By Sivaram Kulendran

Seaweed farming is an eco-friendly and sustainable practice that offers numerous benefits for both the environment and local communities

Yet, hidden beneath the waves lies an agricultural opportunity with immense potential-seaweed farming. This growing sector has started to gain attention for its sustainability and profitability, and it's creating new avenues for coastal communities.How did seaweed cultivation first start in Sri Lanka?

Seaweed farming in Sri Lanka was inspired by the successes seen in our neighbouring country, India. In India, starting as a community project after the Tsunami in 2004, seaweed farming has become a booming industry over the last two decades, driven by demand for seaweed in diverse sectors, including agriculture, food, and pharmaceuticals. After observing the positive impact in those regions, we saw a similar opportunity here, given Sri Lanka's expansive coastline and favourable environmental conditions. Thereafter, we imported seaweed seed materials from the pioneer seaweed producer of the world, Indonesia and Malaysia. The real challenge, however, was sustaining a sufficient mass of viable seed materials with the time-consuming plant quarantine measures, particularly for seaweeds being really new to Sri Lanka those days back in 2010 the startup location was areas around Kilinochchi. However, we succeeded in introducing this cultivation to our war victims including the women in fishing villages as a livelihood. We are of humble pride for receiving Asia's most responsible entrepreneurship award for this project led by Hayleys Agriculture PLC.

What are the benefits of seaweed farming?