CSIAP Sri Lanka

What CSIAP Sri Lanka does

The Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) is a government development initiative implemented by Sri Lanka's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation since 2019, financed primarily through a $125 million World Bank IDA Transitional Credit within a $140 million total project envelope. The project targets 11 climatically vulnerable districts across six provinces (Northern, North Central, North Western, Eastern, Southern, and Uva), covering 375,000 hectares, 18 sub-watersheds of 10 river basins, and 1,700 minor and medium irrigation schemes intended to benefit over 60,000 farm families and approximately 470,000 smallholder farmers. Its core technology stack combines traditional Sri Lankan cascade tank management systems (interconnected networks of small reservoirs, canals, paddy fields, and forests operating within micro-catchments) with modern climate-smart agriculture interventions, supported by a centralized Farmers Database, a district-level Weather Forecast System, and the Smart Market multilingual e-commerce platform at marketplace.csiap.lk.

The program delivers its mandate through twelve thematic programmes, including the Climate Smart Farmer Training School at Thirappane (Anuradhapura), Tank Rehabilitation, Micro Irrigation, Climate Smart Agronomic Improvements, Home Gardening, Seeds Production, Crop Diversification, Water Management, Community-Based Seasonal Electric Fencing, Modernization of Agrarian Service Centres, Organic Manure Production, and Inter-Season Cultivation. As of October 2024, 470 tanks had been rehabilitated; in April 2026 the Ministry inaugurated Sri Lanka's first Climate Smart Agriculture Centre (CSAC) under its Agri-Technology Division, establishing a permanent national hub. The business model is non-commercial: services are provided free to beneficiary farmers, with no pricing, no paying customers, and revenue substituted by the World Bank grant, government co-financing, and beneficiary in-kind contributions. Distribution runs through a Project Management Unit (PMU) in Rajagiriya and Deputy Project Director (DPD) offices in each of the six target provinces, with knowledge dissemination via the CSIAP Blog (258,146 readers across 150+ countries), Krushi TV and Krushi Radio YouTube channels, and earned media through Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.

Name

CSIAP Sri Lanka

Legal name

Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP)

Website

https://csiap.lk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CSIAP is a World Bank-funded ($125M) government project implemented by Sri Lanka's Ministry of Agriculture that delivers climate-smart agriculture support, irrigation rehabilitation, and digital marketplace access to approximately 470,000 smallholder farmers across 11 dry-zone districts through 12 thematic programmes and provincial field offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Development Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (11511)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Agriculture & Food Security Development (BPAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate, Environment & Natural Resource Management Aid Programs (BPADABAI), Food Security, Agriculture & Nutrition Aid Programs (BPADABAD)

Keywords

• Climate smart agriculture
• Irrigation rehabilitation
• Smallholder farmer support
• Cascade tank management
• Agricultural development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Rajagiriya

HQ country

Sri Lanka

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CSIAP is a government-implemented, World Bank-funded development project that delivers climate-smart irrigated agriculture services to smallholder farmers in 11 dry-zone districts of Sri Lanka. Its core offering combines rehabilitation of 1,700 minor/medium irrigation schemes with farmer training, climate-smart agronomic practices, micro-irrigation, seed production, organic manure programmes, and the Smart Market digital marketplace. All services and inputs are provided free of charge to beneficiary farmers as a non-commercial social impact initiative.

Product overview

CSIAP Sri Lanka operates a multi-component climate-smart agriculture initiative consisting of the main CSIAP project (a World Bank-funded $125M programme improving climate resilience in 11 dry zone districts), the Smart Market e-commerce platform for agricultural trade, a Farmers Database for internal farmer management, and a Weather Forecast System. The project encompasses 12 thematic programmes including the Climate Smart Farmer Training School, climate-smart agronomic improvements, home gardening, seeds production, crops diversification, micro irrigation, tank rehabilitation, water management, electric fencing, agrarian service centre modernization, and organic manure production. The portfolio works through infrastructure rehabilitation, capacity building, market access, and knowledge dissemination to support smallholder farmers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Smart Market: Online marketplace platform connecting farmers with buyers for agricultural products
• Climate Smart Farmer Training School
• Climate Smart Agriculture Centre (CSAC)
• Krushi TV
• Krushi Radio

Products and services

• CSIAP Main Project World Bank-funded government development project improving climate resilience and productivity of smallholder irrigated agriculture across 11 climatically vulnerable dry-zone districts of Sri Lanka, rehabilitating 1,700 minor/medium irrigation schemes and delivering 12 thematic programmes to over 60,000 farm families.
• Smart Market Multilingual online marketplace (marketplace.csiap.lk) operated by CSIAP that enables smallholder farmers across Sri Lankan provinces to list and sell agricultural produce directly to buyers, with district-based seller verification and crop categories spanning vegetables, fruits, rice, grains, spices, oil crops, pulses, mushrooms, and medicinal herbs.
• Climate Smart Farmer Training School Field-based training facility at Thirappane, Anuradhapura, providing hands-on training to farmers on climate-resilient agricultural practices, climate-smart technologies, and water management techniques under the CSIAP project.
• Weather Forecast System Public-facing weather forecast service providing three-month district-specific forecasts for all 11 CSIAP implementation districts, enabling farmers to plan cultivation under climate-smart agriculture practices.
• Climate Smart Agronomic Improvements Programme CSIAP programme promoting adoption of climate-smart agronomic practices in farmers' fields to improve productivity and climate resilience across the 11 dry-zone districts.
• Tank Rehabilitation Programme CSIAP programme rehabilitating minor and medium irrigation tanks across 11 dry-zone districts to restore irrigation capacity, with 470 tanks completed as of October 2024.
• Crops Diversification Programme CSIAP programme encouraging smallholder farmers to diversify beyond traditional paddy to improve income resilience and household nutrition.
• Micro Irrigation Programme CSIAP programme distributing micro irrigation technologies to smallholder farmers to improve water use efficiency and crop productivity in dry-zone hotspot areas.

Quantifiable outcome

• 470,000+ smallholder farmers to benefit from project interventions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Department of Agriculture (DOA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey implementing agency providing technical expertise in agricultural development, crop production, and extension services. Draws expertise from DOA along with DAD and ID for project implementation.
• Department of Agrarian Development (DAD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementing agency providing expertise in agrarian development, farmer organization strengthening, and land reform aspects of the project.
• Irrigation Department (ID)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementing agency responsible for irrigation infrastructure planning, tank rehabilitation, and water management technical expertise.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development): UN specialized agency financing rural and smallholder agricultural development in developing countries. IFAD's project portfolio directly overlaps with CSIAP's climate-resilient smallholder agriculture and irrigation rehabilitation mandate.
• Asian Development Bank: Multilateral lender funding agricultural and rural infrastructure projects across Asia. ADB's climate-smart agriculture and irrigation projects in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar are directly comparable in scope and scale to CSIAP.

Regional players

• Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan government agency providing agricultural extension services nationally. Serves overlapping smallholder farmer populations and shares CSIAP's technical mission, but operates with permanent budget rather than project-based donor financing.

Others

• CGIAR: Global agricultural research partnership operating international research centers on climate-resilient crops and CSA. Provides the upstream research foundation that informs CSIAP-style national implementation projects.
• World Food Programme (WFP): UN food assistance agency addressing food security in vulnerable populations. Overlaps with CSIAP's beneficiary segment (smallholders in climate-vulnerable areas) but focuses on food distribution rather than productivity.
• World Bank Group: Primary funder of CSIAP via IDA Transitional Credit. As the multilateral institution financing CSA projects globally, it is architecturally comparable — though it operates as a funder rather than an implementing project entity.

Broad incumbents

• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization): UN agency setting global norms for agriculture, food security, and CSA. Operates much more broadly than CSIAP but shares the climate-smart agriculture mandate and works with the same smallholder beneficiary segment globally.
• USAID: US development agency funding Feed the Future and other agricultural programs. Operates more broadly than CSIAP but funds comparable CSA, irrigation, and smallholder market access interventions in developing countries.

Emerging players

• One Acre Fund: Non-profit social enterprise serving smallholder farmers in East Africa with inputs, training, and market access. Operates an integrated smallholder support model comparable to CSIAP's bundle, though in a different geography and with partial cost recovery.
• ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics): Research organization developing climate-resilient crop varieties for semi-arid regions. Directly relevant as CSIAP relies on drought-tolerant seed varieties, and Sri Lanka's dry zone parallels ICRISAT's mandate geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwqwTedFo7F-ZzirNV2iEOQ/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/csiap-sri-lanka

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CSIAP Sri Lanka