Sri Lankan farmer Kapila Koswatta proudly shows off one of his pepper plants. He harvests around 600kg of black and white pepper, twice a year. Phak Seangly
A former hotel landscaper in Sri Lanka has not only achieved his goal of becoming a successful entrepreneur of producer of export-quality goods, but has also been honoured for his farming skills by his nation’s Department of Export Agriculture.
Kapila Koswatta earned the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) recognition for his spice farm.
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He grows more than 20 varieties of mixed spices and fruits on his farmland in Kegalle, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka.
Some of his spices are processed and even reach international markets, thanks to the support of the Resilient Gender Inclusive Enterprise System (RIES) project run by DevPro, an independent not-for-profit organisation which builds on the 30 years’ delivery and legacy of Oxfam in Sri Lanka.
Kapila, 44, inherited a little over one hectare of land from his father who had cultivated rubber and some spices in the traditional way. Working for a landscaper at a hotel for eight years, he gained a lot of horticultural experience.
His skills, which once kept the grounds of a luxury hotel lush and pristine, are now being applied to cultivating a rich crop of exotic herbs and spices.
He plans to expand his business even further, by turning his farm – where he lives in a neat home with his wife, a teacher, and his two sons – into a popular tourism destination called ‘Mathila Spice Garden’, named for his son.
The garden received its first visit last week when a tour group of journalists from the Asia Media Forum 2024 stopped by to see the garden for themselves.
The forum, held in Colombo, was organised by Oxfam, with the theme “Local Stories, Global Issues”.
Kapila and his extended family waited by the entrance to the garden, where they offered a warm welcome to the visitors. Their small, clean home sits at the base of a mountain, surrounded by tea plants and the rich aroma of exotic spices.
“Cardamom: Queen of the Spices” read a place card at a bunch of cardamom at the entrance, with a wide variety of fruits and spices on display either side of the spice.
Kapila introduced some of the most important spices to the visitors, and showcased some of the finished products, processed by his family. The value-added goods were displayed atop a wooden table in his home, alongside a trophy which was awarded to Kapila by his government, for his achievements and contributions to Sri Lankan agriculture.
A group of journalists enjoy the rich aroma of the many spices produced on his farm. Phak Seangly
Among the many spices he cultivates are pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, vanilla and cocoa, along with coffee, bananas and tea.
“I expected to reach this level in 2035. The RIES project came in 2017. Because of the support I received from the project, I have succeeded more quickly and achieved my dream long before I expected,” Kapila told the visitors.
In addition to supplying to local markets, his spices are making their way to international destinations, although through relatives, friends, visitors and third-party companies. He has not registered for permission to export on his own yet.
It is difficult for him to estimate the annual harvest quantities and income he earns from the crops. Some do not provide an annual harvest, like cloves, for example, so he has to wait several years for them to produce.
At present, the majority of his yield comes in the form of tea and pepper. He earns over 75,000 rupees (approximately $260) from tea every month.
The two species of pepper he grows produce two harvests a year, with Kapila typically able to produce 100 kilogrammes of dry white pepper and 500 kilogrammes of black. A kilo of white pepper sells for around 4,400 rupees (about $15), while the black pepper generally sells for slightly more than half that.
Kelum Nishantha, regional project coordinator for DevPro, explained that Kapila was awarded GAP certification by the Ministry of Plantation Industries’ Department of Export Agriculture (DEA) for his outstanding work.
Kapila is one of 700 regional farmers working with the project. When his farm is established as a tourism destination, he plans to use it to demonstrate and sell the local products supplied by these farmers.
“After joining the RIES project, he became a leading farmer, planting some 26 spices and fruits. At the moment, he has become one of the best farmers in the region,” Nishantha said.
Kelum Nishantha, regional project coordinator from DevPro, speaks to the media during the tour of Mathila Spice Garden. Phak Seangly
He explained that the area is very famous in Sri Lanka for the varieties of spices it produces, thanks to the altitude and reddish-brown lateritic soil.
Growing spices … and communities
The RIES project aimed to develop an inclusive, sustainable market eco-system, with inclusive business models in pepper and cinnamon value chains.
By introducing new technologies to enhance productivity, value addition and quality, the project has supported and improved 284 pepper farmers, 170 cinnamon farmers and 50 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
With the assistance of the export agriculture department, it provides training on recommended agronomic practices, pest and disease control, pre and post-harvesting methodologies and the processing of pepper and cinnamon.
It also supplies equipment and machinery to enhance efficiency and quality, and introduced the GAP system and certification to pepper and cinnamon cultivation.
In addition, the project provides training in spice processing, value-addition, and packaging; promotes men-engagement in unpaid care work and women's involvement in spice production and value-addition and promotes women-led businesses by entrepreneurship development training.
Mohamed Shafeer, program manager of DevPro, explained to the visitors that the selection of the farmers to join the project is based on their technical education, experiences and engagement with the project.
“How long they do, what is their interest, etc. On the other side, we are also looking at vulnerability and social inclusion. We need to give priority to marginalised people, all people with disabilities, people who don't have access to resources,” he said.
He added that when operating the project, to make it more inclusive, they work with established enterprises, entrepreneurs and the government. This enables them to create job opportunities for unskilled and unemployed people.
He emphasised that as a non-profit organisation, they want to make the project and the community independent, without relying on any orders. They need to create their own revenue generation, so they do consultancies, businesses, profit oriented work, but most importantly, they don’t share that profit internally.
“It will go into the development work area. We are governed by board of directors and they are 100 per cent volunteers. They don't charge anything. And we, the staff are covered by the project based on our work. The rest of the profit is reinvested in the community,” he said.
