Wayamba - Major Agricultural Crops

Major Agricultural Crops

Wayamba has a highly developed agricultural economy, growing a variety of fruits and vegetables, flowering plants, spices, oil-seeds in addition to the traditional plantation crops such as Coconut, Rubber and Rice. Rich soils and varied climate give Wayamba a potential for growing of virtually any crop.

Paddy is the main agricultural crop in the province. Wayamba is the third largest paddy producing area in Sri Lanka. There are two main cultivation seasons. The Maha Season (October–January) or the period with excessive rainfall and the Yala Season (April–August) the drier season. In Yala season, the farmers have to depend on irrigation. More recent times, the paddy farmers during the dry season have opted to cultivate export crops and subsidiary food crops that bring bigger profits.

• Coconut – The largest industry in the Wayamba Province. The extent of land under coconut is 48% of the island’s area.
• Paddy
• Cereals – Kurakkan, maize, green gram, cowpea
• Root Crops – sweet potatoes, red onions
• Fruits – Pineapples, Mangoes, Papaya, Banana, Avocado
• Vegetables – Gherkin, Asparagus, and many local vegetables
• Cashew Nut is also cultivated on a large scale in the Wayamba province. Wayamba is a major Cashew exporting region in Sri Lanka. The northern most dry region is ideally suited for Cashew cultivation.
• Fisheries Industry/ Prawn Farming - The western coast of the North Western region is endowed with rich fisheries and other aquatic resources. The major varieties found in abundance are tuna, prawns, lobsters and cuttlefish. The country’s export-oriented commercial prawn farming industry is concentrated in the coastal areas of the Puttalam district.