SADP Ultra
Background
Sustainable Agriculture Development Programme (SADP) is the main Corporate Social Investment (CSI) project of the Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC (CTC). CTC initiated it in 2016 in line with their parent company British American Tobacco (BAT)’s CSI theme “Sustainable Agriculture and Environment”. SADP provides low income families in the selected villages “agricultural and other inputs to achieve self-sufficiency through home gardening and animal husbandry”. Please see Sustainable Agriculture Development Programme (SADP) for more details.[1][2]
SADP Ultra, launched in 2013, is the latest variant of the SADP. Targeting tobacco farmers, it has the highest number of beneficiaries (4,100 families) compared to other variants of SADP. According to the CTC, the aim was “to promote the cultivation of cash crops such as maize and other home gardening crops on tobacco fields”. CTC refers to SADP Ultra as an “ongoing engagement method” with “Farmers & Barn Owners” which “help to build and strengthen farmer network and provide an effective platform for sharing best practices”.[1]
According to the media reports, SADP Ultra was initiated with the support of the Natural Resources Management Centre (NRMC) of the Department of Agriculture[3]
CTC Investment
According to the CTC’s Annual Report 2016, CTC invested LKR 4.6 Million in the year 2016 for SADP Ultra.[1]
Impact
In 2016, CTC reported 4,100 families benefited from SADP Ultra programme since its initiation. The highest number of families were from Matale District (1,240), closely followed by Polonnaruwa District (1,168). The other districts in which the programme was implemented were; Anuradhapura (600 families), Ampara (346 families), Kurunegala (300 families), Kandy (300 families) and Badulla (146 families). According to the CTC the benefits were “increasing bio diversity of the land, enhancing soil quality and providing farmers with an additional source of income”.[1]
As per the main SADP Programme, SADP Ultra also received positive media coverage as reflected in the examples below;
- Sunday Times – Ceylon Tobacco’s benefit to the economy: Rs. 32.7 bln in taxes in 1st half 2013[4]
- Daily FT - Tobacco farmers transitioning to diversified, sustainable agriculture[3]
- Sunday Observer - Sustainable agriculture program for tobacco farmers [5]
Tobacco Unmasked Resources
Other relevant TobaccoUnmasked entries:
- Sustainable Agriculture Development Programme (SADP)
- SADP Plus
- Na Sevana Community Development Project
- SADP Lite
- Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards (AREA)
- Dinesh Dharmadasa
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC. Annual Report 2016, 2017, accessed May 2017
- ↑ British American Tobacco. Sustainable Agriculture Development Programme, 2017, accessed May 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Daily FT. Tobacco farmers transitioning to diversified, sustainable agriculture, 30 April 2014, accessed May 2017
- ↑ Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Ceylon Tobacco’s benefit to the economy: Rs. 32.7 bln in taxes in 1st half 2013, 11 August 2013, accessed May 2017
- ↑ J. De Silva. Sustainable agriculture program for tobacco farmers, 24 July 2013, accessed May 2017
