‘දල්ලෙන් දළුලන රටක්’ Program Launches Across 500 Smallholder Tea Villages

The national initiative titled “A Country Revitalized by Tea”, aimed at uplifting Sri Lanka’s smallholder tea growers, was officially launched at the Hapugastalawa reservoir bund in the Kotmale region on the 15th under the patronage of Minister of Plantation Industries and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyaratne.

The program seeks to establish 500 smallholder tea villages across the country, strengthening rural livelihoods and boosting national tea production. As part of the initial phase, work is scheduled to begin in 144 tea villages spanning 11 districts.

The initiative is driven by the ambitious national target of increasing Sri Lanka’s made‑tea output to 400 million kilograms and raising tea export revenue to USD 2.5 billion by 2030. The program is being implemented through the combined efforts of the Smallholder Tea Development Authority, Sri Lanka Tea Research Institute, Sri Lanka Tea Board, and the National Plantation Management Institute.

Minister Vidyaratne emphasized that smallholder tea growers contribute the largest share of Sri Lanka’s tea export earnings, underscoring the importance of strengthening this sector.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Development and Social Empowerment Vasantha Piyatissa, Nuwara Eliya District MPs Manjula Suraweera Arachchi, Krishnan Kaleichelvi, and Anushka Thilakaratne, Nuwara Eliya District Secretary Thushari Tennakoon, Ministry Secretary Gunadasa Samarasinghe, along with a large gathering of officials and community members.