Sri Lanka - Region Profile

Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, has a total area of 65,610 sq. km, with 64,740 sq. km of land and 870 sq. km of water. Agriculture contributes to 12% of Sri Lankan GDP. Rice is the main staple food among Sri Lankans, grown in an estimated 10,00,000 plus ha with a record production of 4.869 million metric tons during 2011-12. The major plantation crops like tea, rubber, and coconuts continue to figure prominently in the economy of Sri Lanka. In the horticulture sector, fruit crops are grown in an area of about 110,000 ha with a production of 598,236 mt. Banana, mango and citrus are the major fruits grown in this country. The major fruit growing soils are medium to high in available P and deficient in micronutrients like Zn, Fe, Cu and B. Vegetables are grown in an extent of about 82,000 ha with a production of about 810,869 mt. As per the report of Soil Testing Programme (2011), the major vegetable growing soils are low (43%) to medium (30%) in available P and low (44%) to medium (50%) in available K with noted deficiency of Cu.