Salt of the earth Pilot project helping reclaim Sri Lankan farms

KATUKURUNDA, Sri Lanka – A commando in an elite Sri Lankan police unit, Mr Sameera Dilshan has an unusual mission: to reclaim farms poisoned by salt, a longstanding problem now accelerating due to climate change.

Increasing salinity is slowly and steadily swallowing traditional rice paddies along the island’s coastline, taking away the livelihood of generations of farmers.

Two hours’ drive south of the capital Colombo lies Katukurunda, one of the camps of the formidable Special Task Force (STF),an elite force created four decades ago to fight Tamil Tiger rebels.

While his colleagues train for riot control under the humid heat of the nearby Indian Ocean, the 35-year-old non-commissioned officer and his “commando-farmer” team are hoeing, weeding and watering.

Their goal? To grow coconut palms and a wide variety of fruit and vegetables in a paddy declared dead 40 years ago due to salt water contamination.

“This plantation was launched in 2022 as part of a government initiative to improve food security,” Mr Dilshan said.

The local authorities allocate land parcels for this purpose.

The method, known as “sorjan”, is similar to techniques used in Thailand and Indonesia. It reshapes flood-prone land by digging ponds where rice can be grown or fish raised, with more saline-tolerant coconut trees planted.

Embankments around these ponds are used for more delicate crops.

“We’re tending to 360 coconut trees planted here… along with pumpkins, gourds and cucumbers,” said Mr Dilshan. “In 2½ years, we’ll know if it’s a success or not.”

“It’s an efficient and climate-resilient production system that optimises land use and productivity, and increases farmers’ profits,” said Professor Buddhi Marambe, from the University of Peradeniya.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a 2024 report that saltwater from seas and oceans affects 10.7 per cent of the earth’s land, making