The COVID-19 has disrupted agriculture and supply chains in every corner of the globe. Firms in the supply chain have been tested and some have to transform their business model. In Sri Lanka where nearly quarter of the population is employed in the Agriculture sector, the focus has shifted toward developing this sector and strengthening the supply chains. Can policymakers make use of this opportunity to resolve pre-pandemic issues in the sector and introduce technology to boost production and limit wastage.

One of the key sessions of the Sri Lanka Economic Summit (SLES) 2020 will be on the timely topic of ‘Post-Pandemic Agriculture- Opportunity in a Crisis’. The session will aim to discuss the opportunities that lie within the sector to drive overall economy recovery. SLES 2020, the premier economic forum, this year too will have a lineup of contemporary dialogues under this year’s theme ‘Roadmap for Take-Off: Driving a People-Centric Economic Revival’.

The presenters at this plenary will include Dr. Nafees Meah - IRRI Representative - South Asia, International Rice Research Institute and Major Gen. (Rtd) Sumedha Perera - Secretary, Ministry Agriculture. The presenters will be joined by Mr. Vish Govindasamy – Group Managing Director, Sunshine Holdings PLC, Ms. Jayanthi Dharmasena - Executive Director, Hayleys PLC – Mr. Prashanth Premakumar - Director & CEO, Agrithmics, Mr. Irfan Thassim – Founder, Oceanpick Pvt Ltd . The session will be moderated by Mr. Rizvi Zaheed – Director, Vidullanka PLC.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be organizing the 20th SLES on the 1st and 2nd of December 2020 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo. This will be the 20th consecutive year the Chamber is organizing the country’s foremost economic event.